Naruto: Uchiha Chronicles
by RinneTaicho
Summary: Near the end of the First Shinobi World War, the course of history changed, when Madara Uchiha met a woman who pulled him from "The Curse of Hatred" once more. But the threat of the Eye of the Moon Plan isn't over, for a new and mysterious figure lurks in the shadows. Now, his grandson will set out to correct his mistakes. Sharingan/Jiton Naruto, Naruto x Fem-Sasuke x ?
1. Chapter 1

**Naruto: Uchiha Chronicles**

**AN/ Alright, the author known as RinneTaicho is finally back. Sorry it took so long, and sorry that I haven't finished the editing on Naruto: Soul Reaper Chronicles, I ran into an issue along the way, when I realized I needed a little bit of build in the relationship between Naruto and Fem-Ichigo before he beginning of the Ryoka Invasion, so I'm adding a chapter in between two and three to cover the time between when Fem-Ichigo gets her powers, and when Rukia gets taken, and it's going slow.**

**To be honest, I think both that and my Mokuton fic will be on hiatus pending a good deal of editing and possible rewrite for the mokuton fic. I know this will upset some people, but right now, including this one, I have a few fic idea's that are vaguely being pieced together right now, and I think will be much better structured and planned out than my first two fics, which I hope will make up for it.**

**Anywho, you don't want to hear about that, you want to hear about this story. This one has really caught my interest, and I have it better planned out than the previous two, I know exactly where it's going so I am hoping it will come out much better. **

**The premise of this story is that Madara is Naruto's grandfather, and abandoned the Eye of the Moon plan soon after beginning the preparations, having only just summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and started making Zetsu when he did so. **

**The only other things I will say about it, is that the plan WAS picked up, but I won't say anything more, since that won't have any bearing until Part II, around the same time as Madara was revealed in Canon.**

**Further, I'll make one thing clear; I guarantee no use of information revealed about Madara's plan beyond the initial explanation. The reason is that when I had begun the planning of the story, Madara had barely just been resurrected for real, and it became obvious he was going to be the Juubi jinchūriki. **

**I don't read the manga that much(even though I have the entire first part of the series in manga) because I was first introduced to the Naruto series through the English dubbed anime, and it remains my preferred method of enjoying the series(mostly because I can't stand Sakura's voice in the subbed version; yeesh, look no further for why some Sakura haters call her a howler monkey/banshee).**

**I only know of the events of Madara becoming the Juubi jinchūriki because of the research I did on the wiki about jinchūriki and the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode in particular, because I accidently discovered that when reading the article on it.**

**Sorry if you don't like that, but since at least the first half of this fic is going to be focused solely on Part I and maaayyyybe some of the time skip, it shouldn't have too much of an impact for some time. **

**That's all the information all give for now, besides the fact that the pairing is a double pairing Naruto x Fem-Sasuke and a mystery girl that won't be revealed until the end of Part 1. **

**Now, I have a poll up on my profile for a pairing for this fic, since I've already decided it, I will replace that poll with one for the pairing of my next fic. **

**The final thing I have before the chapter starts, I have a challenge. The first person to correctly guess the identity of the second girl before she is revealed, will be given the option of choosing a girl that will be either the pairing for one of my next fics, or might be a second pairing for one of my upcoming fics(if I already have a firm choice for that fic).**

**I will inform the winner(the first person to guess correctly), that they won via a PM, and simply announce an end to the contest. This way, I get to keep my evil suspense going as well as not giving away who the girl is by publicly announcing the winner(because you could just go and see who they guessed and find out).**

**There are only three/ limitations I will put on the choices, and they are: 1) I won't do female Bijū, there are quite a few problems I have with this pairing, too many to get into. 2) I won't do Kushina or any other incest. This isn't my thing, I read the occasional fic with this pairing, but that is very few and far between, and only if it's good enough, but I don't have an interest in writing it myself. 3) They have to be shinobi. I don't really have an interest in having him be with civilians, as they would have no chance of protecting themselves from his enemies.**

**Besides that, any other girl is game, I'll even do gender bends(obviously I have no issue with these.).**

**The rules for guessing are simple, you get to guess one girl per chapter review, and if multiple are given, I will simply take the very first one as the guess. Obviously, with the fact I will be informing the winner that they won vie PM, you will need an account to win.**

**I hope people have fun with this.**

**Now, finally, the first chapter of Naruto: Uchiha Chronicles.**

Normal speech: "what"

Extremely loud group/single person shouting: "WHAT!"

Thoughts/Speech taken out of context:_ 'what'_

Letter/Book/Written text: '_What'_

Demon/Summon speech: **"what"**

Demon/Summon thoughts: **_'what'_**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Bleach, that honor belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo respectively.

**Arc I: The Origin:**

**Chapter 1: Witness and Awaken, Magnet and Copy Wheel!**

* * *

**– ****Konohagakure, 6 Years After the Kyūbi Attack, Afternoon –**

Konohagakure was considered one of the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, once the strongest until the Kyūbi attack.

After the Yondaime Hokage had given his life to stop the mighty beast, the Sandaime Hokage had stepped forward to once more take the mantel of Hokage, until such a time as he could find another successor. Under his guidance, the village had begun recovering from the devastating episode.

Over the past seven years the village had been rebuilt completely, and much of its lost strength recovered. Now, the damage done seven years prior was completely erased, and life within the village had returned to its peaceful and happy state. On the surface, that is. Below that, a hidden conflict was growing ever larger, between one clan and the village. For the Kyūbi had not left only physical scars on the village, but more ethereal ones as well.

In the aftermath of the attack, the Uchiha Clan had fallen under the suspicions of the higher ranking members of the village, questions of whether they were involved in the sudden attack causing them to be ostracized from the rest of the village.

As they experienced the mistrust directed at them, the leaders of the clan became increasingly angry and unsatisfied at what they viewed as a near century long discrimination against them. The final straw came when the Uchiha had been made to live in secluded corner of Konoha, separated from the rest of the village.

The ostracized clan began plotting to take the power they thought so rightfully belonged to them.

As the plot progressed further and further, the Hokage and elders of the village became aware of it, and in an attempt to ease the tensions, the Sandaime began to try negotiating with the clan, without revealing he knew of the plot.

The attempts were in vane, as they rebuffed every attempt, and he was unable to tell them he knew of their plot and wished to avoid it.

That brings us to the beginning of the story, as the tensions began to approach their apex, and a man was attempting to stop the plot of his clan, only to be intercepted by other forces at work in the village.

At the same time, a certain blond – unknowing – Uchiha was on his way to train for the academy.

* * *

It was currently just past midday in Konoha, and the sun shone brightly as a pleasant cool breeze swept through the village. All around the village was interspersed with lush greenery. The streets bustled with happy inhabitants, going about their lives, unaware of the tension building between the village and one of its most prominent clans.

In the area near the training grounds for shinobi, a blond-haired boy could be seen walking through the forest. The boy looked to be about seven, with spiky blond hair and sparkling electric blue eyes. He wore a plain black shirt with a swirl symbol on the front, and tan shorts with green ninja sandals.

The boys name was Naruto Uzumaki – and unknowingly – Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yōko(1).

He was currently walking through the lush forest that surrounded the training grounds near the Naka river.

The emerald colored vegetation was just beginning to show the slightest encroachment of yellow, red, and brown in its vibrant color, showing the gradual change from Summer to Autumn, as the breeze produced a constant rustling sound around the boy.

Though he couldn't see it yet, he could hear the quiet rush of water from the Naka river beyond the trees, as he made his way for the training fields nearby.

Naruto had just begun the academy, and he was on his way to practice his skills, after another disappointing day of his instructors being rather reticent about helping him, simply telling him how to do something, and then going to help others, leaving him to figure out anything he didn't understand.

The boy couldn't help but wonder why everyone treated him like that, like they didn't want him around. It had been that way since he could remember, just a few short years ago.

The small blonds expression became downtrodden, as he thought of the way people treated him, and how it was made worse by the fact he was an orphan. He had no idea who his parents were, or if they were dead or abandoned him.

More than anything he wanted a family, someone to care about him like all the other kids seemed to have. Every time someone had come to adopt a kid at the orphanage, he had always felt hope they would pick him. But they didn't. People would just give him a cold look like everyone else, and then pick another child. Finally, it got to a point where he had begged his 'Jiji' to let him live in his own apartment, so he didn't have to deal with the constant disappointment.

As he thought of the elderly Hokage, his mood cheered slightly. The Sandaime was one of the few people he knew that was kind to him; him and the Ichiraku's from his favorite restaurant.

They were the things that made life bearable for him, especially the Sandaime. He really was like a grandfather to him, always helping him out and making sure he was doing ok, sharing his wisdom with him and telling him cool stories about his experience as a ninja.

Still, despite that, he wanted to find out who his parents were one day, so he at least knew where he came from. Until then, he would just train to be the most badass ninja he could.

More specifically, he wanted to be Hokage, like his 'Jiji', and his idol the Yondaime. He wanted to be as cool and powerful as them, maybe then the villagers would start to recognize him, instead of ignoring him.

With his thoughts becoming significantly more positive, the blond turned his mind back to what he was currently doing, going to train. It was with a start that he realized during his inner musing he had just about reached the edge of the clearing he was heading for.

Just as he had almost reached the bushes, he heard two strange noises.

The first was rather simple to discern, and not too strange considering where he was. The – _clang _– of metal on metal was something that could almost always be found in a training ground.

It was the second sound, a strange – _hiss _– that got his attention. It was very loud, easily reaching him. Curious, the blond walked to the edge of the vegetation, to look through the bushes at the cause of the noise. His curiosity quickly became shock as he beheld the scene in the clearing split down the middle by the Naka River. On the river bank before him, he saw a completely unexpected sight. there were seven people locked in combat – and not the kind that was typical for a training session. There were far too many killing blows being attempted, and one looked to be badly wounded.

Six of the seven appeared to be Anbu, but something was off. They wore the typical Anbu mask and cloak, but underneath that the uniforms seemed to vary greatly, and not one seemed to wear the actual Anbu vest and shoulder-length gloves or grey arm guards. What's more, they were attacking the seventh man, throwing ninja tools as well as the occasional jutsu at him, waves, bullets launching at him, attempting to slam into him.

In response, the man would launch back large gouts of fire, so hot Naruto could feel a slight heat from where he stood in the bushes, turning the attacks into steam, the source of the constant – _hiss _– he had heard. The seventh man was the most interesting. He wore typical attire from the Uchiha Clan, with a dark high-collar shirt and dark ninja pants, as well as what seemed to be a holster for his tanto, which he used to fend off the weapons, while seemingly appearing and disappearing to dodge the jutsu and move faster.

The man had unruly black hair, and a broad nose. The most interesting thing was his right eye, which was crimson, with a black shuriken in the center. His left eye, however, was closed, and a crimson trail of blood streaked down his face from that eye.

It was clear that the six men were trying to kill the seventh. He already had several small cuts that looked to be caused by the tanto the supposed Anbu carried, and even a rather serious laceration on his right side, that looked very wide and deep, almost as if whatever had cut him had glided through him like a knife through butter. As he looked at the Anbu, Naruto began to be afraid. One thing he knew from his conversations with his surrogate grandfather, the Sandaime, was that his Anbu ALWAYS wore the standard uniform unless on infiltration missions, where they dressed as regular civilians.

If these six men were dressed as neither, it meant they were not the Hokage's Anbu, or possibly not Anbu at all. One thing was clear, they were attacking a Konoha shinobi, and if they were willing to do that, and didn't work for the Hokage, they would have no issue 'silencing' him.

He wasn't stupid. If they went to the trouble if hiding their faces, they didn't want their activities known, which meant they would kill him to stop him from telling anyone.

As the reality struck him in the face like a war hammer, he knew he needed to get out of there. That's why in his shock and fear, he wasn't aware of his surroundings, as he began to retreat without taking his off the people in the clearing.

Something he would regret.

Naruto took a step back, instantly freezing as what seemed to him to be a deafening – _CRACK _– rent the air like a gunshot, as he stepped on a fallen tree branch, causing all the masked figures in the clearing to instantly snap their heads in his direction in a sort of creepy synchronization.

The blond felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, as he saw the Anbu-like people look in his direction. A wave of fear enveloped him, as his veins seemed to be flooded with adrenaline and he broke out in a cold sweat. At that moment, the small boy did the only thing he could think of, he turned and ran, ran away from the creepy masked men. As the small boy dashed through the forest in a seemingly random direction, one of the masked figures nodded to three of the others.

"Eliminate him, there are to be no witnesses." They said in a voice distorted by the mask. Even with that, the emotionless quality in the tone was easy to pick up.

Without needing any prompts, the three figures – one wearing a dog mask with four eyes, one a demon mask, and the other a regular cat mask – took off in the direction of the panicked academy student, intent on eliminating him.

_'Whoever he was . . . I hope he gets away, because he just saved my life.'_ The unruly black haired man thought to himself, as he used a shunshin to disappear while the Anbu look-alike's focused their attention on the fleeing blond, allowing him to hide from them.

* * *

**– ****A Short Distance Away –**

Naruto dashed madly through the forest, not really paying attention to where he was going. He tore through the bushes in a frenzy, his heart threatening to burst from his chest as it beat at an extremely high rate from the combination of fear and exercise.

The greenery passed in a blur, as he ran. All he wanted to do was put as much distance as possible between himself and the masked men.

Naruto glanced back, and nearly felt his heart stop as he saw three of the men following him easily, almost like they weren't concerned that he would get away at all.

The three wore different masks, the one on the left having the most simple, a regular cat mask.

The one on the right had perhaps the scariest, a snarling demon mask with tusk like fangs extending upwards from the bottom lip.

Finally was perhaps the strangest, as it was a dog mask, but with four eyeholes.

As they followed the blond, the supposed Anbu never stepped up the pace, seemingly content to keep following him, something that surprised the blond.

_'Why aren't they trying to catch me? Aren't they worried I'll get away?' _Naruto thought.

As he reached that last conclusion, the blond shot out of the bushes, and came to a skidding stop, as his heart jumped into his throat. The reason was simple. He was currently standing on a rocky bank next to the Naka river, as the water thundered over the cliff side to churn the waters of the river bellow into a white foam.

As he stared in shock and despair at the cliff before him, beside him the river flowed by, and a roar filled the air along with a fine mist, as the water thundered down over the cliff, the force throwing mist into the air.

With a sinking heart, Naruto turned around, backing up to the edge of the light grey rocky bank, right up until he felt a the light mist on his calves from the river flowing rapidly by, and he saw the three masked men methodically walking towards him. In that moment, he was certain they were there to kill him. He just _knew_ they didn't have good intentions towards him, and it terrified him, because he knew he couldn't take a single one of them.

As they approached, the Anbu-look-alikes seemed to pause in their approach, simply standing their looking at him, the unmoving faces of their masks being very creepy to the seven-year-old boy. At least that's it seemed like to Naruto. In reality, the three were contemplating what to do now that they were face-to-face with the boy, they easily recognized him. Everyone alive during the attack knew of the Kyūbi jinchūriki. This presented them with a problem.

Their master would not stand for the death of the Kyūbi jinchūriki, as he stood as a war deterrent and great weapon for Konoha. At the same time, they couldn't simply let him go, as he had witnessed them attacking the Uchiha. Finally, the lead man – the one with the dog mask – came to a decision. In the relative silence that filled the air, save the sounds occasional of bird calls, and the sound of the waterfall, the man whispered his orders to the two flanking him.

"Seek to incapacitate him by any means. The boy only has to live long enough for us to get him to Danzō-sama to extract the beast. It matters not what happens after that." The man commanded his partners in a whisper so quiet it couldn't be picked up by the boy standing next to the waterfall, it's constant roar blocking most of his hearing.

As the order was given, the trio began to approach once more, increasing the anxiousness and worries of the blond.

Naruto could tell – as he got a feeling in his gut that he couldn't shake –he simply _knew _they were going to kill him. The boy gulped audibly, before trying to reason with them, to get them to spare him. Even if it was futile.

"P-p-please, don't kill me! I w-won't t-tell anyone what I saw!" Naruto stuttered in fear, not wanting to die. There were so many things he wanted to do. Get the acknowledgement of the people of Konoha, become Hokage . . . find out who his family was.

For a moment, the three paused, and he felt a slight hope that maybe they would spare him. That hope was dashed the next moment, when the lead man spoke.

"That is not possible. Danzō-sama's orders were clear, there are to be no witnesses to our involvement. Do not struggle, and it will be over quick." The dog-masked one said in a monotone voice.

As soon as the man finished his sentence, Naruto's heart sank and he felt as if his stomach had dropped past his knees. He felt like he was choking on his breath, struggling to get a single small gasp, as he watched them draw the tip-less tanto they seemed to have in common. In his chest, his heart began beating wildly as adrenaline flooded his veins, causing his arms to go numb.

The dog masked man shot forward at tremendous speeds – to Naruto at least – , beginning to raise his tanto to strike Naruto. As he approached, Naruto's perception of the world seemed t.o slow down to a crawl as his eyes widened in unadulterated fear. All the surrounding sounds faded away into a vacuum of silence, where only his heartbeat could be heard, thumping loudly in his chest.

_Bum Bum_

The man raised his tanto extremely slowly.

_Bum Bum _

As he reached Naruto, the man began bringing his tanto down.

_Bum Bum_

Naruto felt his eyes involuntarily close, as the tanto began to descend upon him.

_Bum Bum_

Just as the tanto was about to reach his neck, Naruto's eyes snapped open, glaring at his attacker with eyes that were startlingly different from their previous sparkling blue. Instead, bloody red orbs glared menacingly at the masked man, with a single black tomoe mark spinning around each pupil.

At the exact same moment, the tanto suddenly halted in midair, as if being held by an invisible hand. Try as he might, he couldn't move it to strike the blond. As the seconds went by, he began feeling a slight tug in his equipment pouches.

All the while he looked into the red eyes of the blond.

"Sharingan?" He muttered questioningly to himself so quietly that not even Naruto fully heard him. How did the blond get the sharingan? This changed things. If the boy had the Sharingan, perhaps it was better not to simply aim to incapacitate him to the point they could easily extract his Bijū. Should he take him to Danzō-sama to be made into another Root soldier?

Not knowing of the occurrence, and simply seeing their partners blade stopped, the other two moved to strike him as well. As soon as their blades came within an inch of the blond, they too stopped suddenly. When they did, the dog-masked one felt the tug in his pouches become even more pronounced, and his fellow felt it begin for them.

All at once, the sound of tearing cloth rent the air, echoing throughout the clearing. From the equipment pouches of the three masked men dozens of black blurs shot forth, all towards the three tanto's of the men, leaving cuts in their clothes and on their skin as they took the most direct route to the tip-less steel blades, leaving small trickles of crimson liquid leaking down their skin. The black blurs met the unique tanto's in a tremendous – _CHING CLANG _– of metal on metal, echoing loudly across the water and even down to the area at the bottom of the waterfall.

When the momentum of the blurs was stopped by the tanto's, it was revealed that the blurs were in fact every single kunai and shuriken on them, with each man having at least a couple dozen of each clinging to their tanto's and each other, making them look like spiky clubs of black metal.

Despite the unexpected result, the men seemed to remain unfazed, trying to analyze what happened. It was the demon masked one that figured it out first, speaking to his colleagues.

"The metal has become magnetized. That is why the blades stopped moving, an similar pull as the tanto, while the shuriken have the opposite pull." He commented in the emotionless tone that the men seemed to share.

"Indeed, perhaps the Magnet Release. Danzō-sama will surely be interested in this child, with both the Sharingan and Jiton." The cat masked one added, receiving a nod from the others.

"It seems that non-lethal force will be required." The apparent leader commented.

"Just as well, metal weapons will be useless against the boy."He concluded.

As the three were discerning what had happened, Naruto had entered a trance-like state. His eyes glassed over, and a his face went completely blank. Just when the masked individuals finished their deductions, Naruto's right arm rose from his side in a manner eerily similar to that of a zombie, but without the groaning and decomposing flesh.

The last thing the three Anbu-look-alikes saw was him clenching his hand, before all they could see was black and silver slivers, as an intense white hot pain erupted all over their bodies, like getting thousands of paper cuts all across their bodies at the exact same moment. It was so intense, it even made the emotionally void Root members – who had been trained to have a pain tolerance even greater than the already impressive level of most ninja – felt screams of agony tear from their throats, due to a pain so intense they could practically taste it, like biting on an iron rod.

Blood sprayed through the air from numerous cuts across their bodies, the heavy scent of iron filling the air as the crimson life-giving liquid splashed on the ground and all over Naruto's front.

Their clothes were reduced to tatters, as the men looked more like lumps of raw meat than humans. It was when the first warm spray of liquid hit his face, that Naruto came out of his trance, looking in shock as he was showered in the blood of the three men who were now unrecognizable.

For a moment, he was frozen in shock, as he watched the bodies fall, and felt himself covered in the thick, warm crimson blood.

Finally, as the adrenaline began to leave, and his heart slowed down, he managed to whisper in a shocked tone, as he felt fatigue begin tugging at his consciousness.

"D-d-did I do that Did _I _kill them?" The blond wondered in a shocked voice. His eye lids began to feel like led, and started to close, as they changed back to their normal electric blue color. At the same time his body seemed to give way to fatigue. Slowly, he began to tip backwards, splashing down into the swift current just as he lost consciousness, not even registering the cold shock of being submerged.

Upon hitting the water, his body sunk slightly at first, bubbles erupting around it as water was thrown into the air, sparkling in the sunlight. After a moment, his body gently floated to the surface, surfacing with a low – _bloomp _–, as ripples spread outwards from where he had landed.

His wet hair was now sticking to his forehead, and his soaking clothes slightly weighed him down, barely keeping his face above the water. Soon though, his body began to be pulled towards the edge of the waterfall like a bug stuck in the water as a bathtub drains.

At first, his clothes slowed him down slightly, but as he got closer and closer, his speed and momentum increased, drawing him faster and faster towards certain his demise by being dashed upon the rocks at the bottom of the large waterfall, his clothes doing less and less to slow him. Finally, he was pitched over the side of the fall at high speeds, spiraling down through the air end over end. His soaking clothes and wet hair were pulled back tight to his body, flowing behind him from the force of his fall. He was getting closer and closer to being splattered upon the rocks and water below, nothing but a stain on the surface.

As he reached midway down, it began to look hopeless for the blond. He would be dashed upon the surface below, never awakening; never reaching his dreams or goals. Nobody would ever know what became of him.

It was then, as he reached midway, that a black and grey blur seemed to flash across the waterfall, snatching him from midair, and carrying him to a tree branch on the side of the cliff.

Once it had stopped, the blur was revealed to be an extremely old man holding Naruto gently in his arms bridal style.

He was definitely very old, older even than the Sandaime, and emaciated. His pale, wrinkly skin stretched over a body that was undoubtedly once toned and athletic, still possessing wiry muscle even as it had aged. His steel grey hair was very long, thin, and spiky, reaching his waist with a bang covering his right eye. He wore a simple black robe and simple straw sandals with waraji.

Onyx eyes gazed down at the blond intensely for a moment, as the man examined him. After a moment, they softened, a warm look entering the black pools as the man smiled gently down. As if talking to himself, the man then whispered to the unconscious blond.

"So I was correct. It is you . . . my grandson. It would seem you have inherited my unfortunate habit of getting into complicated situations." The old man whispered to himself and the blond, before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

**– ****A Few Minutes Earlier, Behind the Waterfall –**

Behind the curtain of white that was the waterfall along the Naka River, as the mist from the cascading current was flung into the air, lay a cave entrance.

A constant roar filled the air in front of the rocky entrance, as the waters from the upper portion of the river thundered down into the lower portion of the river, the waters at the entrance were churned into a constant white foam that floated downwards, and slowly dissipated in the crystal blue current.

After the entrance was a long tunnel, that led back underneath the river, and into a fairly large rocky cavern, lit by torches along the walls that gave the otherwise dark place a soft light.

On one side, there was another waterfall, considerably smaller than the one outside, that fed into a large, clear, cool pool of water, with a traditional wooden bridge arching over it. Along the floor, interspersed here and there, were stalagmites pointing into the air. Perhaps the most prominent, was the Japanese style wooden house at the back of the cave. The front doors were a sliding style of door, and beyond those doors, in the front room of the house, the caves only occupant sat in a meditative pose, extending his senses around him.

The occupant was a very old man, almost emaciated in appearance, with many wrinkles. His steel grey hair was slightly thin, long, and spiky, with one bang covering his right eye, and he wore a simple black cloak.

His name was Madara Uchiha, the former head of the Uchiha Clan. Currently he was doing an exercise to maintain his sensing abilities, extending them around him to try and sense any signatures near him, or even far away. It was as he was doing this, that he sensed something peculiar. There were seven signatures he could sense; going down the Naka River; if he was correct. The peculiar part, was that six of the seven seemed to be chasing the seventh, and they appeared to be fighting rather fiercely, with jutsu being thrown back and forth.

All of the individuals had at least Anbu level reserves if he was sensing right, and one seemed to be an Uchiha, as he could sense the special chakra of the sharingan being used.

But that wasn't all. Very near to them, and getting closer, seemed to be a signature slightly larger than those. After a moment, the eighth signature suddenly began moving fastly in his direction and three of the other signatures chasing the seventh, broke off and began chasing the eighth. As they ran, the persons chakra seemed to be fluctuating, as if something was happening to them.

_'Hmm . . . could it be a bloodline stirring? Curious . . . ' _ Madara thought.

The chase lasted for a few minutes, until the eighth person was backed up against the river almost directly above him. It was as this happened, that whatever bloodline that had begun stirring finally awakened in the eighth person, and Madara's eyes opened in shock. Cold fingers seemed to be trailing down his spine, and a pit of worry formed in his stomach, as he recognized not only the chakra distinctive of the Sharingan, but another bloodline that was all too familiar.

Only one word passed through his mind, as his features hardened.

_'Naruto . . '_ He thought, before he vanished in a blur of motion.

* * *

**– ****Current Time, Inside the Seal –**

_Drip . . ._

_Drip . . ._

_Drip . . . _

Naruto's eyes scrunched up at the noise that invaded his ears, of water dripping down onto another watery surface.

He felt tired, he didn't want to get up.

_Drip . . ._

_Drip . . . _

As the noise continued, and his mind began to become more awake, the events that led to his unconsciousness came rushing back to him in rapid succession. His eyes snapped wide open in shock and fear, and he sat up abruptly, looking wildly around himself.

The blond couldn't help but be confused by his current surroundings.

He currently lay in the middle of a corridor that looked like the basement of an industrial plant, with metal pipes running along the walls and ceiling. The floor was flooded with a pool of water maybe a couple inches deep, but strangely enough he didn't feel his clothes were wet, or any wetness.

The entire place seemed to be illuminated by a low golden light, leaving plenty of shadows around him, and causing it to have an ethereal air to it.

Slowly, he began to get up to his feet, taking in more of the strange place, trying to get a clue as to where he was. The first thing he noticed was the fact that the air strangely enough wasn't stale like you would expect for the underground.

From what he could tell, the corridor carried on for quite a ways, extending into the shadows. With nothing else to do, the boy began to walk down the hall way, hoping to find a way out. The blond soon came to the end of the corridor, coming to a crossroads from another corridor. It was here that he came across his first significant finding in this strange place, as he saw a bright light in the distance. That's when he began to hear it, the faint whisper, of a rumbling, deep, gravelly voice. It emanated from the faint light at the end of the corridor.

**"Come . . . ." **The voice beckoned.

Naruto was immediately on guard. The voice filled him with dread, a cold pit forming in his stomach. It sounded primal and ancient.

"Wh-who's there? Where am I?" Naruto called into the darkness of the corridor.

**"Come to me . . . ." **The voice called once more.

Reluctantly, Naruto found himself continuing to walk down the corridor towards where the voice came from. Whatever it was knew he was here, so there was no point trying to hide or run.

As he continued, he became aware of a new noise entering his range of hearing. At first, he mistook it for the sound of wind passing through the corridor.

_Whoo whoosh_

_Whoo whoosh_

_Whoo whoosh_

On the sound went, as it got louder, Naruto realized it was the sound of air going in and out of a giant pair of lungs. He felt a shiver of fear run down his spine, as he reached this realization

It was the sound of breathing. How large did a creature have to be to produce such a noise simply by breathing?

He wasn't sure he wanted to find out. Still, the blond continued to walk through the corridor, noting that for some reason, his vision seemed much better than it usually was, as he could see almost every detail, even in the dark. Had he been able to see himself, he would have seen that his eyes glowed a bloody red in the darkness, one tomoe adjacent to the pupil in each eye.

As he walked, he began to see a glow at the end of the corridor, as if whatever lay beyond was significantly brighter than the corridor. It took him but moments to reach the end of the tunnel, being blinded briefly by the bright light, white spots blurring his vision and obscuring the room for a moment.

Blinking furiously, the white spots began to disappear slowly from his vision, allowing him to view the room he was in. It was a rather large room, with pipes all along the walls, and if he guessed right, most likely the ceiling, which couldn't be seen because it was so high up shadows obscured it.

The object that held the blonds attention the most though, was the giant golden gates that extended from floor to ceiling directly across from him, with a border around them with golden spiral designs. There appeared to be a large piece of paper, almost as big as his body, holding it shut, with the kanji for 'seal' on it.

Even with his strangely enhanced vision, he couldn't see what was inside. It was simply a sea of darkness, like no light could exist within it. The most disconcerting part was that this was where the deep breaths could be heard coming from. As he made his way across the room, he felt a wave of malice and hatred crash down upon him, forcing him to his knee's with his eyes bulging wide in fear. He couldn't stand, he couldn't talk, he could barely even breath. It was ten times worse than when he had felt the terror when he was about to be killed by the three masked men. The blond felt himself breaking out in a cold sweat, as the pressure increased to the point he couldn't even draw breath.

He soon found himself struggling to stay conscious, black spots beginning to invade his vision. Finally, mercifully, the pressure lifted from him, as a deep rumbling chuckle filled the room.

As Naruto collapsed forward onto his hands and knees, panting with eyes still wide in shock and fear, that same voice from before boomed out to him.

**"Hehehehe So . . . . my ****_warden_**** has finally come before me." **The voice called out.

As a visiblyshaken Naruto got to his feet slowly, he looked directly into the darkness. Right now he stood just a short distance away from the cage.

The boy shook his head, as he attempted to reign in his fear, managing to make his facial features from being terrified with wide eyes, to simply one of wariness.

"Wh-who are you?" He asked cautiously.

In response, he received another deep chuckle, before something terrifying happened. In the dark abyss inside the cage, two enormous crimson eye with slit pupils shot open, with a huge gleaming white grin soon following, the large pointed teeth as big as Naruto himself. Naruto took a step back in fear, at the bloodthirsty grin and the almost manic glaring eyes, just as an reddish-orange paw that resembles a human-like hand shot forward towards him, gleaming white claws looking to impale him. The boy saw it coming in slow motion, and threw himself backwards, landing on his rear in the pool of water on the floor. Still, the claws continued to come towards him, and were just about to impale him when–

_CLANG!_

With a resounding crash, the paw was stopped as it crashed against the bars of the cage, stopping one of the claws just inches from Naruto's face. If the blond hadn't thrown himself backwards, he would have been impaled on the claw. Looking up at the owner of the paw with eyes wide in shock, Naruto gulped in terror, as he saw a vision of terror.

The shadows in the cage dissipated to reveal a beast of nightmares. Standing there looking at him with a menacing grin and one paw attempting to impale him, was a giant reddish-orange fox with a human-like torso and rabbit like ears, with black marks extending from its eyes into the inside of its ears. Behind it waved nine giant tails that seemed to have a mind of their own.

He was standing in front of the Kyūbi no Yōko.

**"Of course, it's just my luck that you too have an ability that will help you control me. To think, you are from that accursed clan." **The fox growled.

For his part, Naruto was frozen in shock and fear, it felt like someone had poured ice water into his veins. It took several moments, for him to register what the fox said, and formulate a reply.

"Y-you're the Kyūbi! Where are we, and what's this about control, and a clan?" Naruto asked, shaky at first, but stronger and more confused at the end. In response, the Kyūbi removed it's claw from the cage door, laying down and growling at the boy.

**"Don't play dumb with me boy, you are undoubtedly a member of those accursed Uchiha . . . . with that repugnant Sharingan!" **Kyūbi bellowed.

The blond was frozen in shock, as he tried to process the Kyūbi's words. Still in denial, he looked down into the pool of water at his feet, only to see his reflection staring back at him, his eyes a glowing bloody crimson, with a single black tomoe spinning around the pupil in each eye.

"The Sharingan, but how?" Naruto whispered to himself in complete shock.

* * *

**– ****Outside the Seal, Inside Madara's Lair –**

Madara Uchiha had lived a very long life. He had lived longer than even the Sandaime Hokage or Sandaime Tsuchikage had.

Over that time, he had seen and done many things, many of which he was not proud of. Twice, he had fallen into the "Curse of Hatred" that plagued his clan, twice he had turned his back on his best friend and that friendship; and twice he had been pulled from that hatred, once by his friend, and once by the woman he loved.

He had fought in endless battles; founded alongside Hashirama the first ever Hidden Village where ninja clans that previously would have been at war could live together in peace; turned his back on that village to pursue a mad plan to bring a world where no one had to be a 'loser'. As he looked upon the sleeping face of his grandson – reminding him so much of his son and wife – he felt the weight of his years pressing on him more than ever.

They were currently in a rather simple room with wood paneled walls, ceiling, and floor, a simple bed with a wooden frame, and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling filled with candles, bathing the room in a warm yellow light. Naruto was tucked under the covers, still unconscious from his ordeal and –Madara suspected – interacting with the Kyūbi. In the ancient Uchiha's opinion, that was a good thing, because the sooner he got to know the fox, the sooner he could learn to use its power.

Looking at his grandson, Madara felt the warm content feeling of love suffusing his being; a feeling he hadn't felt since he had lived happily with his wife and son, before she died and his son went missing. His grandson was now the only family he had, and because of his foolish hatred, he was in danger, and it was up to the elderly Uchiha to prepare him. But right now, there were things he needed to do.

With a weary sigh, the Uchiha turned and began to walk out of the room.

_'I had best dispose of what's left of the bodies, before anyone finds them.'_ Madara thought, as he exited the room.

* * *

**– ****Inside the Seal –**

The blond 'Uzumaki' stared into the water below him, and more specifically at the pair of bloody vermilion staring back at him. His eyes were wide in astonishment, and he could feel his body shaking, such was the shock at seeing the famous dōjutsu of the Uchiha Clan in his eyes. How was it possible? He had thought he was just an orphan, one people seemed to dislike for some reason he didn't know.

"H-how's this possible? I'm no Uchiha!" Naruto asked/stated to himself in shock, something the Kyūbi heard. The beast couldn't withhold a snort of derision, the noise echoing off the walls.

**"Obviously you are, little boy. There's no doubt that is the Sharingan." **The Kyūbi growled, causing Naruto to look up at him once more. As it saw those eyes it hated so much looking back at it, the fox glared even harder, snarling at the blond. How it loathed those eyes, the eyes which had twice controlled it.

**"Turn those infernal things off, before I find a way to rip them from your skull, and make jam from them, to spread on crackers." **The fox snarled in annoyance, it's tails whipping about in agitation. Naruto gulped in fear, as the chakra entity glared at him.

"H-how do I do that?" He asked nervously, not wanting to upset it. Lucky for him, the fox simply snorted in derision, before answering.

**"You certainly don't act like most of your clan. To turn those stupid things off, you need to stop the chakra flowing in your eyes whelp." **It replied in a huff.

Still slightly confused, Naruto struggled to control his chakra, willing the chakra in his eyes to halt. It was with much relief, that he looked down into the water, to see his normal blue eyes looking back at him. Shakily, he looked back up at the Kyūbi, still having questions for the ancient entity, like where the heck they were, and what a the beast was doing there. For a few minutes, everything was silent, until he finally worked up the nerve to speak to the being once more, choosing his words carefully so as not to upset it.

"I don't wanna be disrespectful, but where are we? And what did you mean when you called me your warden? More importantly, how're you here, all the stories say the Yondaime killed you!" Naruto asked cautiously. As soon as the last sentence left his mouth, Naruto knew he touched a nerve. Instantly the fox once more tried to impale him, slamming its hand-like paw into the bars again, as it snarled in fury, trying to get to the blond.

**"KILL ME? THE GREAT KYŪBI NO YŌKO KILLED BY A LOWLY HUMAN?" **It roared in fury, causing the boy to cower slightly from the sheer might of its rage. Even though the Yondaime was his hero, he daren't try to talk back to the chakra being. After a moment, the fox seemed to regain its composure, but with the malicious snarl still in place. When next it spoke, it was much calmer, with a touch of arrogance.

**"Please, that whelp barely managed to seal me away with the help of that pathetic woman. The mere notion of him being able kill me is laughable." **The fox told him.

As opposed to the previous statements, this one drew curiosity from the blond. What'd it mean a woman? All the stories he heard said the Yondaime beat the Kyūbi alone. And what was this business about sealing? He didn't know much about sealing – only what the Sandaime had told him – , but if the Kyūbi was sealed in something, there was no way he should be able to be face-to-face with it.

"If you're sealed away, how can I be talking to you, how'd I get in a seal?" He asked. To his surprise, the chakra entity seemed to find this amusing. It's dark chuckles filled the boiler room, as it replied with a malicious smirk.

**"Foolish little boy. I called you my warden, are you too stupid to realize what those two things mean?" ** The fox taunted. **"The reason you are my warden, and the reason you can be here – the very reason you are shunned by the people of your village – is because your beloved Yondaime sealed me inside of you!" **Kyūbi said with a twisted grin.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, as the booming echoes of the Kyūbi's hate-filled mirth reverberated through the room and through his body. It made horrifying sense. The reason everyone ignored him or glared at him. Why when he would describe people that were particularly mean to him to his grandfather figure, they would disappear. All because he had the Kyūbi sealed in him the day he was born; by his hero no less.

It took him several minutes to recover his faculties, as he struggled to come to terms with all the life altering occurrence's he had recently experienced. He had the learned he had the Sharingan, made his first kill, and learned he was the jailer to a massive chakra monster, all in one day. It was surprising he wasn't exhausted, but since it was his mind, it was slightly understandable. As he gazed at the reflection of himself in the water, he became curious, once more allowing chakra into his eyes. It was fascinating to see the normally electric blue eyes bleed into crimson red, the black tomoe spinning slowly.

Before he could get too into looking at his new eyes, he found himself interrupted by a deep growl from the occupant of the cage.

**"Why are you playing with those boy, I told you to keep them off." **It growled in annoyance.

Instead of being cowed as he was earlier, the blond decided to keep them on, something that seemed to annoy the fox as the boy decided to look at him with them.

"I have them now, so I might as well get used to them. Jiji says there's nothing more foolish than wielding a weapon you don't know how to use." He replied. Unknowingly, he had slightly surprised the fox, with his reply. It hadn't expected the boy to have such a logical reason for turning them on. It didn't mean it liked the eyes any more. For his part, Naruto was beginning to get curious as to why the fox hated the Sharingan so much.

"Why do you hate the Sharingan so much?" Naruto asked in a respectful tone, trying to not upset the entity.

At first, it seemed like the fox would refuse to answer, as the silence stretched for near a minute. Finally, it was broken with an resigned huff from the monster.

**"Those filthy monkey eyes have been used to control me twice by members of your clan." **It answered.

This was something Naruto found interesting. It explained what it had meant when it had said he had an ability with the potential to control it. He was going to question it further, but t seemed the fox was now feeling talkative, continuing without the need of prodding.

**"It makes my blood boil seeing you looking at me with them. They remind me of ****_that_**** man." **The fox growled, before it seemed to narrow its eyes, focusing harder on the blond. **"In fact . . . if you had black hair, you would be the spitting image of him if he was a boy . . . " **It said with a menacing snarl.

Naruto didn't know what to make of that. He reminded the Kyūbi of one of the men that had controlled it? But who could that be?

"Who d–" He began, halting as he began feeling a strange sensation. It felt like he was being pulled, pulled from his spot, yet not in any direction. His form began fading, as he looked around him in worry. "What's happening?" He asked in a panicked tone. Seeing the panic, the fox snorted in amusement, resting its head in its palm in a bored fashion.

**"Oh settle down foolish boy. Your body is simply awakening from its forced nap, after you butchered those three men. I must say, it was a most impressive display for one so small." **The fox chuckled, seeming to find amusement in the way the three men had died.

Naruto froze, as he was reminded of his recent kills, slowly fading from the seal with a shocked look.

* * *

**– ****Outside the Seal, Inside Madara's Lair –**

"Ugh–" Naruto groaned loudly, from his prone position in the bed. Wait . . . bed? Last thing he knew, he was falling into a river. With a jolt, his eyes snapped wide, and he sat up from his position, throwing the covers off the upper part of his body as he did so.

How did he get here? Where was here? His head turned from side to side, as if it was on a swivel. Eyes blazing with the Sharingan, he caught every detail of the room around him. The searching stopped when his gaze landed on a very old man sitting next to the bed he laid in, looking at him with amusement.

"It would seem you took quite the fall my boy. If I hadn't arrived in time, you would undoubtedly be dead." The man said, a glint of something Naruto couldn't quite place flashing through his eyes.

Before Naruto could even think to reply, he winced as he suddenly heard the voice of the Kyūbi roaring loudly inside his head.

**_'MADARA, LET ME OUT SO I CAN KILL HIM!' _**

The outburst caused a headache for Naruto. He could practically see the Kyūbi slamming itself against its cage, trying to get out to get this man it apparently knew. Surprisingly, it seemed the man seemed to be aware of this.

"Ah, I suppose the Kyūbi is giving you trouble. Understandable, considering our last interaction." He said idly. That was it, who the hell was this Madara guy? The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He was almost certain his 'Jiji' had mentioned it in one of his stories.

"Who the hell are you? Why does the Kyūbi wanna get you so bad, and where are we?" Naruto asked in slightly irritated.

It seemed like the entire day he had been out of the know. First, he planned on going to train, only to have people kill him. Then he had fallen into a river, and gone unconscious, meeting the Kyūbi and learning he was not only the apparent warden of said beast, but that he possessed the Sharingan. Finally, he now woke up and found himself in an unknown place, with an unknown man – that the Kyūbi seemed to hate – sitting near him. Needless to say, he was tired of the word 'unknown'.

The man seemed to consider his question seriously, he expression becoming much more serious.

"Well, in reverse order. We are in a hidden base of mine behind the waterfall you fell over. The Kyūbi hates me because I am one of only two men to control it with the Sharingan; and, as to who I am." He said, pausing as he closed his eyes, allowing Naruto's own to widen in shock, the sharingan still spinning.

This was one of the men that had controlled the Kyūbi? Was he the one that Kyūbi said he reminded him of?

After a moment, the man's eyes snapped open, a fully-matured sharingan spinning to life in his eyes, as he looked at Naruto.

"I am Madara Uchiha, and I am your grandfather."

* * *

**Chapter End**

**AN/ So, there's the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. I apologize for the inexcusably long wait, but as I stated at the beginning, I was planning this out very thoroughly, and I also had some personal road blocks that kept me from having much free time.**

**Either way, there shouldn't be too much trouble from now on, I'm hoping to have a chapter out every couple weeks, but I can't make any promises.**

**Anyways, on to announcements. I think I've decided to keep this a double pairing, as stated at the beginning of the chapter. At this point, the only thing that could change that is near unanimous support for adding in Fem-Gaara in reviews.**

**I think my focus will stay on this story for a while, but I've been contemplating a couple crossover ideas, that aren't really seriously planned yet.**

**I would really appreciate reviews for this story, especially any with any tips/constructive criticism of how my writing skills stack up. I do hope to be a successful writer, so any advice helps, just don't flame, I find those useless, as they don't provide any tips for improvement, or usually even have much to do with the story.**

**Now, as to the poll I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, I will take suggestions of girls that should be added into the poll from reviews.**

**Lastly, I hope you all have fun with the challenge I set forth at the beginning of the chapter.**

**Until then, enjoy the newest installment of Rants of Fanfiction below.**

* * *

**–****The OC Effect –**

**Well everybody, welcome to the second edition of Rants of Fanfiction, and I have a big topic for the rant today, and that topic is OC's. **

**I've heard many people complain about OC's, and I think it's almost always valid. **

**The first issue with OC's, is people usually let themselves take too many liberties with them. First, more often than not, they forget that they are creating a character in a pre-existing story, which means they should configure them to fit that story. **

**How do they mess this up? The answer is simple, many usually give them something like an English name, and/or they make them some bad ass person that nobody's heard of and somehow is more powerful than almost anyone else.**

**Nothing pisses me off more than an character named 'John' or whatever, showing up in a anime/mangaverse where everyone else has either a Japanese or Chinese name.**

**Something that almost pisses me off as much, is a ridiculously overpowered OC. I don't think a character should ever be above the level of an ANBU skill wise, when first introduced, unless they are going to be killed off rather quickly, or are part of a historical back story.**

**A bad OC usually turns an entire story to crap. Now, how do you make a ****_good_**** OC? That, is very complicated, and why I don't recommend it for most.**

**When creating an OC, you have to have a few things in mind right from the start; keep their strength realistic, give them a name that fits whatever universe the fic is about, and make sure you know ****_exactly_**** what role they will have.**

**Next, you have to worry about details. The more the better, right down to favorite foods and hobbies, and focus specifically on their back stories, try to weave them into the universe you are using. The only exception to having these small details, is when the character is dead, and they are merely part of a back story, in which case you can skimp on the details.**

**The final thing I will say, is for the love of god, do NOT create a ridiculous amount of them. There are usually over a thousand characters to use in a universe all ready, there's really not much need for a bunch of OC's. **

**Rant End**

**AN/ Well, that's all I got for you now, stay tuned for my next chapter, it will be the second installment in the Origin Arc, and will be Madara telling Naruto the story of his life in this fic, from his meeting of his wife, to the Kyūbi attack, hope you will like it.**

**Until then,**

**RinneTaicho Signing Off.**

**Translations:**

**1: Kyūbi no Yōko - Nine-Tailed Demon Fox**


	2. Chapter 2

**Naruto: Uchiha Chronicles**

**AN/ Alright and we are starting of the second chapter. Sorry about being two days over the two weeks I thought it would take, but I had some trouble with some of the scenes at the end of the chapter and a few things around the house that set me back for about four days.**

**Before the chapter starts, I want to remind people of my challenge I gave last chapter, since no one actually took it up, don't know if people simply didn't want to guess this soon, or if there simply aren't that many reading this story yet, but anyways, here's the competition: The first person to correctly guess the identity of the second girl before she is revealed, will be given the option of choosing a girl that will be either the pairing for one of my next fics, or might be a second pairing for one of my upcoming fics(if I already have a firm choice for that fic).**

**I will inform the winner(the first person to guess correctly), that they won via a PM, and simply announce an end to the contest. This way, I get to keep my evil suspense going as well as not giving away who the girl is by publically announcing the winner(because you could just go and see who they guessed and find out).**

**There are only three limitations I will put on the choices, and they are: 1) I won't do female Bijū, there are quite a few problems I have with this pairing, too many to get into. 2) I won't do Kushina or any other incest. This isn't my thing, I read the occasional fic with this pairing, but that is very few and far between, and only if it's good enough, but I don't have an interest in writing it myself. 3) They have to be shinobi. I don't really have an interest in having him be with civilians, as they would have no chance of protecting themselves from his enemies.**

**Besides that, any other girl is game, I'll even do gender bends(obviously I have no issue with these.).**

**The rules for guessing are simple, you get to guess one girl per chapter review, and if multiple are given, I will simply take the very first one as the guess. Obviously, with the fact I will be informing the winner that they won vie PM, you will need an account to win.**

**I hope people have fun with this.**

**Now, on with the second chapter, of Naruto: Uchiha Chronicles!**

Normal speech: "what"

Extremely loud group/single person shouting: "WHAT!"

Thoughts/Speech taken out of context:_ 'what'_

Letter/Book/Written text: '_What'_

Demon/Summon speech: **"what"**

Demon/Summon thoughts: **_'what'_**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Bleach, that honor belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo respectively.

**Arc I: The Origin:**

**Chapter 2: The Tale of Madara, and Shisui's Gift!**

* * *

**– ****Madara's Lair, Naruto's Room –**

The blond Uchiha stared with shocked Sharingan eyes at the old man in front of him. His body was frozen in shock at the bomb shell Madara had just hit him with, the breath seemed to be driven from his body, like someone just hit him in the stomach with a sledgehammer.

Did he just hear him right? Did the old man just claim to be his grandfather? It seemed completely ridiculous, after all–what were the chances that he would fall off a waterfall that his long lost grandfather lived behind?

But there was one thing that made his claim believable. The Sharingan. Naruto couldn't help but remember how the Kyūbi said he reminded it of one of the men that controlled it, that he looked like him.

_'Could it really be true? Could he really be my grandfather?' _Thought Naruto to himself uncertainly.

If it was true, Naruto had a lot of questions for the man. First and foremost being where he had been his entire life. Still slightly skeptical, Naruto decided to at least see what he had to say – the man did save him from falling to his death after all.

"I'm not saying I believe you; but say it is true, that you are my grandfather, where've you been all my life?" Asked Naruto cautiously, deactivating his Sharingan in preparation for a long explanation.

The elder Uchiha sighed at his question, looking much older than his already very advanced age, as he too deactivated his eyes. The white-haired man looked down, his onyx eyes vacant as he seemed to become engrossed in his inner thoughts.

He had been expecting and dreading his grandson asking that question. How did you explain to a boy that had never known the love of a family, that your mistakes were the reason for that?

"I can assure you; I am your grandfather." Madara assured him. "As for where I have been all your life, that is a long story, and one full of many mistakes I have regretted." He stated.

Naruto simply looked at him with his eyes full of determination. Clearly he wouldn't be giving up until he had answers. With a sigh, Madara decided to begin his story.

"Very well. To understand the reason I have not been there, you must first know the story of my life, after I left Konoha, nearly forty years ago, on the day I met your grandmother, in the deserts of the Land of Wind." Began Madara, his mind becoming lost in the past forty-five years ago.

* * *

**– ****39 Years Ago, Deserts of the Land of Wind –**

Madara's feet padded softly across the desert. He wore a black cloak over his usual armor – which produced a constant clanking sound –, with the hood up to cast a shadow over his eyes, and his war fan strapped to his back. Around him a howling wind whipped up the sands of the desert, creating an opaque cloud that blocked off visibility just a few meters in front of him.

But he paid no heed to it, or the sand that rubbed against his skin, scrubbing it raw. It had been twenty-three years since his fight with Hashirama at the place that had afterwards been dubbed 'The Valley of the End'. Since then, he had spent his time making preparations for the Eye of the Moon Plan.

After awakening the Rinnegan, he had summoned the statue he had dubbed the Gedō Mazō(Demonic Statue of the Outer Path), and created a clone of Hashirama, along with a strange type of creature that grew from the same tree as the clone–that called themselves Zetsu.

The sound of his cloak flapping around filled his ears, as he made his way across the deserts of the Land of Wind. He was here to scout Sunagakure(Hidden Sand), the village that possessed the Ichibi no Shukaku(One-Tailed Shukaku). Before he began collecting the Bijū, he had to plan out every little detail; like where he would extract them, which would require he find places to serve as temporary bases in all the nations that had jinchūriki. His first stop was naturally the village who not only had the weakest Bijū – but was probably the weakest of the Great Five in military strength.

For half the day he walked, heedless of the heat or the winds, simply carrying onward at a steady pace. It wasn't until he was only a few hours from the walls of Suna, that anything out of the ordinary happened.

Through his sensing skills, he sensed a rather impressive chakra signature – nowhere near his or Hashirama's, but definitely impressive. It even had an especially unique feel, like the person possessed a bloodline, one he hadn't encountered before. Whoever it was, they were headed towards Suna from the border with Ishigakure(Hidden Rock). They were also heading into a trap, because only a mile in front of them, twelve other signatures were in positions that suggested they were poised to close ranks and surround the person.

It wasn't hard to discover the reason for the supposed ambush. Although it had begun to wind down, the Shinobi World War was still going on, and although uncommon – since much of the fighting was being done in smaller countries – incursions between the 'Great Five' hidden villages, happened.

It was the strongest signature of the ambush group that gave him a clue as to what village the two sides were on. He recognized it as one identical to a boy from Iwa he had encountered over twenty years ago in one of his 'diplomatic' visits to the Land of Earth. Madara spared him to see how strong he would be when he reached his potential, in hopes he might give him a good 'dance'.

_'Hmm . . . if he's here, the group is from Iwa..' _Madara mused. _'No doubt that means that the other is from Suna, with their recent skirmishes.'_. The former clan held almost felt a grin tug at his lips. _'Perhaps the Bakuton(Explosion Release) user has learned to dance better since last we met.' _. It had been a long time since he had actually fought, and the possibility of a good fight had his blood practically boiling in anticipation. The fact that this could possibly get him an asset in scouting Suna if he played his cards right – was just a bonus.

As the wind brushed his black and grey bangs out of his right eye, his onyx gaze changed to a glowing red, with three tomoe spinning around each in a menacing fashion. Savage grin in place, he disappeared in a burst of speed – looking forward to the fight to come.

* * *

**– ****5 Miles Away – **

Kazehana ran across the desert at a rapid pace. Small gouts of sand flew up behind her, as she dashed with her body bent forward and arms trailing behind her. The sun beat down upon the back of her neck, which was covered by a tan scarf wound around her neck and shoulders.

The slender kunoichi had a surprisingly innocent appearance; with shoulder-length, blond hair which framed her kind-looking face, and blue eyes. She wore a simple outfit - which did well at disguising her slightly buxom feminine figure – along with a long, silver-white, windflower light silk scarf draped loosely around her neck. Keeping her bangs back from her forehead was her black-clothed hitai-ate.

A soft sigh escaped her lips, as she continued on her way across the desert. She was on her way back from yet another mission to try and sabotage Iwa's war efforts – something her Jiton(Magnet Release) kekkei genkai made her especially equipped for, since she could turn their weapons against them, or even break them down into particles of powder. She was honestly tired of the war, and fighting in general. At thirty-four years old, she was considering retiring. She had had a very successful career, gaining the rank of Jōnin and becoming one of the strongest Kunoichi in the village. But now, all she really wanted to do was to settle down and start a family, and watch proudly as her younger brother Fukurō attain his dream of being Kazekage – something he was being groomed for due to his innovation of their bloodline to mimic the abilities of Shukaku's jinchūriki.

_'_Sigh_ . . . I think I'll bring it up with Kazekage-sama and Fukurō-kun once I get back.'_. It wasn't really that hard of a decision for her, the only reason it hadn't been made sooner was because her village needed her. In truth, she never really liked fighting, but it was necessary to protect her village and brother. Now, with him having far surpassed her, she could rest easy in retiring– knowing the village was in good hands.

Whether it was her distracting thoughts, or premature relaxation from being in the Land of Wind again – Kazehana was snapped from her musings when she was suddenly put on edge, senses going into overdrive as she felt chakra signatures appearing around her that she had failed to notice, moving to surround her completely.

_'Dammit . . . it's too late to escape.'_. She cursed, as she realized she had walked straight into a trap. Her sapphire gaze lost its usual kind quality, being replaced by a fierce concentration as she examined the shinobi surrounding her. Involuntarily, her blood ran cold, as she realized from the single-sleeved and dull brown armor that she was surrounded by no less than a dozen Iwagakure(Hidden Stone) Jōnin level ninja. The one that caused the most dread stood directly in front of her with a grim expression.

The man had spiky, light-brown hair and prominent jaw-lines, and green eyes that showed the coolness of an experienced shinobi. He wore the standard Iwa uniform, with his right arm exposed save for his hitai-ate. He was tall, with an athletic build. His expression showed that – while he was resolved – he had regrets about his mission.

She recognized him easily. He was Gari of the Bakuton, head of the Explosion Corps. Alone she stood a good chance, but with eleven other Jōnin with him, she stood almost none. The kunoichi ruthlessly squashed down on the sorrow that threatened to rear its head, at what was to come. She was a proud member of Suna, and she wouldn't die crying like a helpless girl.

After a few minutes of a silent stare off between her and Gari, the man finally spoke.

"I'm afraid that you won't be making it back to your village Kazehana-san." He told her. "The Tsuchikage has decided your brother is becoming too much of a threat, he wants him to be unbalanced so it will be easier to take him down.". The man paused, sighing before continuing. "Therefore, we've been ordered to eliminate you, thus removing two of the biggest threats from your village.".

At first, her heart had sunk upon hearing that they were indeed here to kill her. But upon hearing it was part of a plan to kill her baby brother, a white hot rage filled her. She had helped raise him after their parents were killed, he was the only family she had – and they wanted to take him away from her? Her arms rose up slowly, and a scraping and clanking sound filled the air, as hundreds of kunai and shuriken began pouring out of the sleeves of her shirt. Puffs of smoke issued from various places on her clothing, as even more weapons, including sais, chakram, blade staffs, and various other unique blades – rose into the air. The weapons coalesced into a sphere of sharp pointy objects surrounding her from all sides, and even above her

"Trying to kill me is one thing, but I won't let you lay a finger on my little brother!" She declared fiercely, as she prepared to launch her weapons at them, and shred them to pieces.

Most of the men surrounding her seemed wary of the intimidating wall of weapons, as – in a creepy synchronization – they arranged in rows, and began spinning in a buzz saw like motion, whipping up a vortex of sand as an ominous creak filled the air.

**"Jiton: Senbuki no Mai!**"(Magnet Release: Dance of a Thousand Weapons) She cried, as the spinning reached a fever pitch, a giant – _BZZZZZZZ_ – sound filled the air, as if a many giant fans were blowing around her. Just as it appeared the blades were about to suddenly expand outwards, all motion suddenly ceased, silence dominating for a second save for the wind and the shifting sand. All at once, the blades began to fall, a tremendous and continuous clanging filling the air as they landed on top of each other, throwing up a cloud of sand that obscured Kazehana from view.

When the cloud of grit began settling, it revealed a large seal array underneath Kazehana, glowing a faint blue as it pulsed, seeming to draw a pinkish-purple chakra from the weapons.

The woman was left stunned in the field of weapons, mouth agape in shock.

"Wh-what's happening? My Jiton . . . it's not working!" She gasped in horror, as she realized her strongest abilities were out of reach.

"Tsuchikage-sama gave me a special seal design to use to nullify you magnetic chakra for a small period of time. It's not versatile or powerful enough to be useful against someone like you brother, but against you . . . " Explained Gari, his expression grim as ever. The man showed no sign of gloating over having outplayed her, seemingly resigned to carry out his mission.

One of the jōnin surrounding her decided to speak up, his voice nervous as he did. "Shouldn't we get this over with, ya know, before it stops working and she can use her kekkei genkai again?" He asked, getting nods of agreement from the others.

Gari gave a sigh, before nodding, giving his ascent to attack.

Before any of the jōnin could move, they were shocked, as a tremendous killing intent seemed to slam down upon them, accompanied by a deep male voice from behind Gari.

"I hope you don't mind, but I saw you dancing, and decided to cut in." It spoke.

Shock filled the air from all the shinobi, but none more so than Gari. His face drained of color as he blanched, his body frozen in fear. Turning his head to the side, his eyes widened in shock and fear, as he saw the black cloaked figure with the gunbai across his back, a pair of Sharingan eyes staring through him.

"I-it can't be . . . you're supposed to be dead, what are you doing here?" He asked shakily.

The cloaked figure simply smirked, before speaking to the spiky-haired man.

"You've grown up since last we met face to face. Tell me, how far have your skills come?" He asked, not seeming truly concerned with getting an answer. "I hope that this time, out dance will be much more entertaining. The fodder should spice things up." Said the Uchiha coldly, causing the 'fodder' to further freeze in shock and fear.

"Who is he Gari?" Asked one of them, as all eleven jōnin discretely began getting their hands in position to begin jutsu.

The man in charge licked his lips nervously, weighing the options. If they stayed, they were surely dead. Going back was a bad option as well, since the Tsuchikage wouldn't take kindly to the failure of their mission. But bringing back the information that this . . . _man_, was still alive, would counter balance that.

"Madara . . . " The whispered name fell from his lips like lead, but all the Iwa ninja heard it, and their blood ran cold. Madara Uchiha was a boogey man in Iwagakure, and even the possibility that this was him filled them with dread.

* * *

Madara couldn't help the bloodthirsty smile on his face, as he looked down at the men below him. They clearly knew who he was – and feared him.

"Retreat. Retreat now!" Gari hissed to his men, causing them to begin to scatter. The retreat was halted, as the former Uchiha Clan Head appeared in front of one of the men in the back, his gunbai extended backwards to come down on the man. The jōnin's attempt to block it with his arms proved useless, as Madara's fan – coated in wind chakra – sliced through his arms and his body, cleanly bisecting him and sending the corpse to fall to the ground, a spray of blood was released from the wounds, staining the sand beneath him crimson.

"Tsk tsk, how rude, leaving before I have my dance." Stated Madara, with a mock disappointed frown as he slowly strode forward, stopping to stand in between Kazehana and Gari. For a moment, all was silent, as the Iwa Jōnin seemed to look at each other, silently communicating to plan their next move. Not that it mattered. Madara could see everything they might do, long before it happened. Thus was the power of his Sharingan.

A chill wind swept across the desert, as both sides silently prepared for the confrontation to come.

Now even sparing her a glance, Madara spoke to Kazehana. "Leave woman. I will take them from here." He told her bluntly. Kazehana gave a shaky nod, still shocked upon seeing him arrive just as she was about to die. Unsurely at first, she began to move out of the ambush, picking up speed as she went, until finally, she broke out in a run, heading to Suna once more.

As soon as she was in the distance, a silent signal seemed to be given, as all the Iwa ninja jumped into motion, preparing jutsu left and right.

"**Doton: Doryūsō!**"(Earth Release: Falling Earth Spears) Four of the ninja called, as spikes of earth grew from the ground, quickly firing upon Madara from all sides.

At the exact same moment, another group of four completed hand seals of their own.

"**Doton: Dosekiryū!**"(Earth Release: Earth Dragon) Four large dragons made of rock rose up from the ground, going into the air higher and higher, until they finally began to descend towards Madara, blocking escape from above.

The Uchiha couldn't help but scoff, at the attempts to take him down. Without a word, his eyes began to spin rapidly, morphing into a new shape as they changed into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, with three enlarged tomoe with circles at their tops overlapping each other at the bottoms and encircling the pupil, with three thick, straight lines stretching outward from the tomoe.

The eight attacks hit at the exact same time, the sound of earth shattering and rocks grinding filling the air, as a large cloud of dust obscured the impact sight. dirt fell to the ground in showers. The twelve Iwa nin stared intently into the cloud, waiting to see what the attacks had done.

As the dust cleared, they paled at the sight before them. Madara stood stoically in the center of the impact, surrounded by a ribcage of cobalt chakra, not a scratch on him. He stood with his arms crossed, eyes boring into Gari's.

"An impressive display . . " He complimented, though his next words caused the men to freeze. " . . . but did you really think to fool me with such an obvious trick?.". As he finished, the ribcage rapidly began to grow, the skeletal structure expanding to be the head and torso of an skeletal-like figure– surrounded by a blazing blue aura. The arms quickly swung outwards, slamming into the Iwa shinobi and sending them all flying.

As each body hit the ground, they collapsed into piles of mud upon the dry desert sands, revealing themselves to be Earth Release Shadow Clones. It was a moment before the first jōnin made a move, emerging from the ground behind Madara to attempt to stab him in the back of the neck, only for the Uchiha to side-step, and grab him by the throat.

For a moment the ninja stared with wide fear-filled eyes at the menacing eyes of the Uchiha, rasping out a few gurgling sounds as he tried to breath with the iron grip around his windpipe.

The next moment, a resounding and gruesome crack filled the air, like a dead tree-branch snapping as the Uchiha's hand gave a vicious twist. Madara released his grip, the Jōnin collapsing lifelessly to the ground with his neck twisted at an odd angle. In the ground around him, the other Jōnin were frozen in shock, stunned by the easy and gruesome dispatching of their comrade.

The Uchiha let out a slight growl, as they stayed in their hiding places. He hated when people hid like rats.

"I don't have much patience for hide and seek." Stated Madara, as he placed his hands together, performing a series of three hand seals in such rapid succession the Iwa ninja couldn't even see it.

Gari's eyes widened, as he sensed something, quickly abandoning his position underground to appear once more on the surface. Unfortunately, his comrades weren't so lucky. Before they knew what had happened, there was a stabbing pain in their chests, and blood began leaking from their mouths, as their bodies were lifted from underground in ten large showers of sand. Each was suspended on a wooden spike extending from the arm of a clone of Madara, their expressions frozen in permanent shock.

From the position Gari had been in before he moved, a clone emerged as well. Seemingly with a silent signal, the clones all dropped their respective victims, before they began turning into roots that quickly moved and merged with Madara once more.

"Impressive, you managed to sense my clones in time to avoid them. Perhaps you can provide a better dance this time." Madara told the shocked ninja with a mocking smile.

As he stared at the corpses of his comrades, Gari's expression hardened, a hint of anger entering his eyes as he looked at the Uchiha. He knew he stood no chance, but he was damn sure going to give the fight to come his best effort, because he had nothing to lose.

"Let's just get this over with!" He said, as he began to charge towards the Uchiha. Holding both palms before him as he ran, the Explosion Corps Commander began charging red energy into them.

"**Bakuton: Kyūsoku Kōsen!**"(Explosion Release: Rapid Rays) He called, as rapid fire thin beams of energy began firing at Madara. Whenever they made contact with something, the beans would violently explode, sending showers of sand up into the air all around Madara. Despite this, the Uchiha dodged all the beams with relative ease.

"You will have to do better than that if you wish to live long." Stated Madara as the beams rained down around him. Soon enough, Gari began to focus harder on trying to hit the Uchiha, but to no avail.

Gari grit his teeth at the way the Uchiha was dodging the attacks, before he focused once more, never stopping his advance. The rain of beams continued, until Gari was within ten feet of Madara. Canceling the technique as a cloud of sand blocked their view of each other, he quickly placed his hands in the clone seal, creating four shadow clones who quickly disappeared underground.

Facing his palms to the ground, he gathered energy for another attack. An wide blast of energy issued from each palm, hitting the ground with explosive force, and launching him into the air above his opponent as a large cloud of dust erupted into the air. The wind whipped his hair behind him, as he began his descent, gathering massive amounts of energy into his palms for an attack like none of the previous ones. The light blue sky served as a backdrop, as the wind chilled his skin and he prepared what would undoubtedly be his final move.

Within the cloud, Madara remained stoic, as he squinted into the cloud of sand, tracking Gari's signature even as the hood of his cloak was blown back off his head from the force generated by the explosions. As he kept track of the Jōnin, he saw four clones emerge around him, boxing him in with red energy glowing in their hands. As one, they launched their attacks at the same time Gari loosed his massive one.

"**Bakuton: Jiraiken!**"(Explosion Release: Landmine Fist)They called in unison. From all of the clones palms, a wave of explosive red energy surged forth, quickly engulfing the Uchiha in a blinding light.

Above, Gari's voice cried out. "**Bakuton: Kyojin Jiraiken!**"(Explosion Release: Giant Landmine Fist). A massive thunderous explosion rocked that area of a the desert, a miniature earthquake occurring as a massive cloud of sand was blasted into the air, filling the sky with a tidal wave of grit even as the light from the energy of the techniques created a tremendous white dome.

Gari narrowed his eyes to slits, as his descent continued, trying to discern anything in the cloud as the abrasive particles dragged across his skin, rubbing it raw. The last thing the Iwa nin ever saw, was a flash of cobalt energy, as he was bisected from the top of his head to his crotch. Blood and organs rained down on the ground, as the cloud slowly settled, to reveal Madara with his clothes slightly singed, he was once again surrounded by a massive construct of cobalt chakra – but this one was much more defined, with musculature and an ogre-like appearance, with four arms wielding two massive swords, one of which had crimson liquid dripping from it slowly onto the ground– and two faces– one had elongated canine teeth in its lower jaw bracket and two tusks growing from said jaw, the other had similarly elongated canine teeth in its upper jaw bracket instead, as well as a single horn protruding from its forehead.

The Uchiha now stood in a very large crater in the middle of the desert. As the chakra construct faded away, and his eyes returned to their usual onyx state, Madara looked over at the mangled body of Gari.

"You indeed reached your potential. To force me to use Susanoo to avoid injury, most impressive. I enjoyed this dance." Said Madara, as he turned on his heel, and locked eyes with a pair of shocked sapphire orbs.

It was the woman from earlier. She stood at the edge of the crater, her eyes wide as she looked down at him, mouth slightly agape.

"So you came back? I thought I told you to leave." He stated bluntly, as he began to walk towards her from the bottom of the crater.

* * *

**– ****A Few Miles Away, 10 Minutes Earlier –**

Kazehana panted, as she paused in her flight from the would be ambush. Her heart still beat madly from the adrenaline, and a light sweat covered her skin. Slowly, she began to calm down from the near death experience. As she did, her mind drifted to her rescuer. When she thought she was about to be killed, he had stepped in and helped, allowing her to survive and return to her family and village.

Honestly, she felt guilty about leaving him alone. No matter how confident he had sounded, it was hard to fathom that he could handle them all on his own. The blond bit her lip, as she worried over the matter. Eventually, she simply gave an exasperated sigh, as she realized she couldn't simply continue on, and ignore what he had done for her. She at least had to make sure he was okay. Turning back the way she came, she began to dash across the sand once more.

She practically flew across the desert, trying to get to the sight of the ambush in time to help her savior. Almost halfway to the location of the ambush, a massive explosion went off, causing a slight tremor even from the distance she was at, and sending up a wave of sand that threatened to block out the sun, as the shadow of the towering cloud fell over her, Kazehana redoubled her pace, worried about the well being of the man that had helped her.

It took but a few minutes, for her to reach the area where the ambush site had been, and the sand had begun settling by then, only being a slight haze now. Where once there was flat desert, she stood on the edge of a large crater, looking down at the man that had saved her, as a massive ogre-like construct of cobalt chakra dissipated from around him. Besides some singing on his clothes, the man seemed to not have a scratch on him. Seeming to sense her, he looked up and locked eyes with her, his onyx eyes met her wide sapphire ones.

Awe and a slight amount of fear filled her being, as she looked at the intense black eyes, framed by his blue-tinted black hair with strips of steel grey here and there.

" So you came back. I thought I told you to leave." The man stated bluntly, causing her to wince slightly at the emotionless tone. It was impossible to tell whether he was angry or not.

With a gulp to steady her nerves, she answered the unasked question. "I was worried you'd have trouble with them, so I decided to come back." She stated, her eyes showing her sincerity.

Madara – for his part – didn't know what to make of it. On the one hand, he wanted to scoff at the fact she had thought he couldn't handle the fools from Iwa. But, another part of him was unsure how to take the fact she seemed genuinely worried about his well being.

"Are you hurt, that was a big explosion just now." Asked Kazehana, her tone giving away her concern for his health.

This time, the Uchiha cocked his head to the side in confusion. He didn't know how to react to her worry for his health. It was unusual to have someone be concerned for him. In the end, he decided to ignore it, in favor of finding out who exactly he had helped, and if she could be of use in his plans.

"Tell me, what is your name, and why were they attempting to kill you?" He asked, as he finally made it up the side of the crater, to stand in front of the blond woman.

Kazehana paused, as she was reminded of the attempt on her life. More importantly, the reason behind it.

"My name is Kazehana, I'm a jōnin of Suna. They were trying to kill me so that my brother would be emotionally vulnerable, and easier to kill." She said, getting a raised eyebrow in response. "You see, he's being groomed to be Kazekage, so killing him would be a huge blow." Elaborated Kazehana with a grim expression, getting a nod of understanding from Madara.

However, the grim mood only lasted for a few moments, before she seemed to brighten up, as she looked at him

"Anyways, who are you, I'd like to know my savior's name." She asked with a kind smile. This only served to confuse Madara more. The woman seemed far too kind and innocent to be a shinobi. Usually the kind people were the first to die when it came to shinobi. No longer able to keep his curiosity at bay, he decided to sate it.

"My name is Madara." Madara replied, before asking a question of his own. "Tell me, Kazehana-san, you seem rather . . . . kind, to be a ninja, why did you choose to be one?" He asked, a slight curiosity in his tone.

Kazehana blushed slightly in embarrassment, at the question. It was one she had been asked many times, because her innocent appearance and kind demeanor seemed to be inconsistent with what was required of a kunoichi, this was highlighted by her dislike of fighting.

Shuffling her feet uncomfortably, she explained to him. "Well, my parents died when my brother and I were still young, killed by enemy ninja." She began. "After that, I decided to become a ninja, so I could protect my little brother , and well, here I am, one of the strongest kunoichi in our village." Explained Kazehana, as she looked at him intensely, a sudden strength in her eyes that belied her innocent appearance.

"You see, I believe that you are only truly powerful when you have someone you love and want to protect, it pushes you to work just that little bit harder to gain the power, for their sake. Do you have anyone like that?" She responded, her expression very sincere.

Madara couldn't help but frown, as he heard her answer. He instantly thought of his deceased brother, when she asked if there was anyone precious to him. There was a point in time when he had only strove to get stronger for his brothers sake; but that was long ago.

"I did once, long ago. But that is no more." He told her, not giving away the negative feelings he was feeling. Turning to her, he spoke once more. "You are an interesting one Kazehana-san, perhaps we will meet again." Stated Madara, as he turned to begin walking in the direction for a circuitous route to Suna.

Before he had gotten more than ten feet, Kazehana called out to him. "I hope we do, and I hope you can find someone to protect once again Madara-san." The Suna kunoichi told him, eyes shining kindly as she looked at his back.

Once again, he found himself put off balance by her kind personality. Turning his head slightly to the side, so that he could look at her with one eye, he gave a small nod, before continuing on his way.

As he left, he had but one thought in his head, which for the first time in many many years wasn't filled with nothing but hate .

_'A new person to protect and love? . . . perhaps.'_

* * *

**– ****Present Day, Madara's Lair, Naruto's Room –**

As he finished the first part his story, Madara's eyes shone with unshed tears, as he remembered his very first encounter with his late wife. She had done so much for him, pulling him from the darkness and into the light, giving him a new purpose.

"Your grandmother was a great woman. I was a very different man at the time we met– consumed by hatred, and on my way down a dark path. She had the unique ability to change people for the better, and she certainly did it for me. It's because of her that I have never fallen to that hate again – I could never face her if I were to do so." Said Madara, looking at his grandson as he told him about his grandmother.

For his part, Naruto was glad to learn about his grandmother. She sounded like someone he would have really like to know, and he was certain he would have loved her dearly. Still, it left him with a lot of questions about his origins, like who his father was, and why his grandfather said it was his fault he didn't have a family.

"So what happened after you met her?" Asked Naruto.

Madara sighed, as he once more immersed himself in memories of the past.

"For a time, we were happy. We eventually married, and not too long after your father was born. But soon after, things changed. One day, your grandmother took your father to a carnival nearby.

"On their way back, they were attacked by missing-nin turned bandits. Your grandmother managed to fight and kill them, but not before being mortally wounded. By the time I arrived, she was already dead, and your father was missing." Explained Madara. He clenched his fist, as he remembered that day.

* * *

**– ****29 Years Ago, Near the Border of the Land of Fire –**

Madara dashed through the trees rapidly, worry etched across his normally stoic face. Much had changed for him in the past decade since he had saved Kazehana. After he had rescued her, he had begun his scouting in Suna; and during the two years he had been there, the blond haired woman had managed to slowly chip away at his hatred piece by piece, and before he knew it, he had been in love with Kazehana. On that day, he had decided to abandon his plan, and focus on a future with her.

After marrying, and Kazehana's retirement, they had moved to a small house he had built using his Mokuton(Wood Release) along the edge of a small river in the Land of Rivers, right in between their respective home countries.

Since then, their lives had been happy and peaceful, and two years ago, they had been blessed with a son, who they named Minato Uchiha, after her father. while his facial features and spiky hair mostly resembled Madara, he got his hair color and eyes from his mother.

The reason Madara was currently dashing fastly through the trees, was because he was worried about them. Two days ago, Kazehana had taken Minato to a carnival near Tanzaku Gai in the Land of Fire, and they should have returned hours ago assuming she was carrying him while going at shinobi speeds. The former clan head couldn't help but curse himself, for not going with them.

_'Possibility of being recognized be damned, I should have gone!' _Madara's chakra sensing abilities were extended to their limit all around him, trying to pick up a trace of his wife's chakra.

Just as he was a mile into the Land of Fire, that he finally picked something up. But it wasn't with his chakra. The air was filled with a very distinct smell. A coppery tang, that was all too familiar to the battle hardened Uchiha.

_'Blood.'_ He thought, picking up the pace, as he scanned the forest floor intently, his eyes morphing into the Sharingan to increase his vision. A few moments later, he saw a glimpse of a body in a clearing, surrounded by weapons.

The Uchiha disappeared in a blur of speed, appearing next to the body. It was a bald man, dressed in rugged clothing who looked like he hadn't washed in ages. Tied to his arm was a scratched out Kusagakure(Hidden Grass) hitai-ate, identifying him as a missing-nin. There was a large pool of blood beneath him, and he was very pale, his body littered with several severe cuts to the front of his body.

Madara instantly looked across the clearing, ignoring the nine other bodies, as his stomach dropped as his eyes locked onto the only one that mattered – his wife, laying in the middle of the clearing. Her expression was peaceful, and she could almost be mistaken as being asleep, if it wasn't for the large amount of blood staining her shirt and the ground beneath her, due to the stab wound in her abdomen.

The Uchiha appeared by her side in an instant, lightly gripping her wrist to check for a pulse. A lump formed in his throat and and he felt his stomach drop even further, as he realized there was none.

Sorrow and anger; that's what he felt. Sorrow caused his stomach to sink and seemed to weigh him down, while the anger burned white-hot and his muscles clenched in rage. But he ruthlessly crushed the powerful emotions, forcing his mind – with great effort – to think logically, and a solution instantly came to mind, as he focused more chakra to his eyes.

Instantly the pupil of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan pulsed, a black ring expanding outward and leaving light purple in its wake. The pulsing continued until a ripple-like pattern of concentric circles had spread over the eyes, with light purple sclerae and irides.

"**Gedō: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu!**"(Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Jutsu) He called, as a demonic looking statue arose behind him, it's mouth opening wide, and a green glow building inside. Madara frowned, as the glow slowly built.

_'It's going slowly . . . her soul has already left the cross-roads, this will take more chakra than I thought.' _He thought, pushing more and more chakra into the technique. His hair began to lose color, turning from its usual black striped with grey, to solid steel grey. Finally, he was rewarded as the green energy shot forth, connecting to his wife's body and flowing into it.

With a large breath, Kazehana took a breath, as her eyes shot open. "Wh-what?" She asked in confusion. Overcome with relief, Madara enveloped her in a hug, holding her tightly to him, a silent tear running down his cheek.

It took her a moment, but Kazehana finally got her bearings, and saw the person holding her.

"Madara-kun? How is this possible, I was dead . . I know I was. What happened to your hair?" She asked, confused.

"I used my Gedō: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu to bring your soul back, the effort took quite a bit out of me." He answered happily, as he held her in his arms. But still, there was one thing that worried him; his son. Pulling back, he looked into her eyes seriously.

"Kazehana-chan, Minato-chan is missing, do you know what happened to him?" He asked her. While he would like nothing more than to hold her and rejoice in her being alive, he needed to find his son first.

Kazehana frowned at the question, trying to remember. The last thing she remembered clearly was him gently nudging her as she lost consciousness from the blood loss. The more she focused, a blurry image came to her.

* * *

_She was looking down, her body lying motionless and blood pooling beneath it. Her son sat next to her nudging her, no doubt thinking it was a game. This continued until her son seemed to become confused, not knowing why she wasn't moving, and eventually began to cry._

_Eventually, even that faded, until finally, he fell asleep clutching tightly to her side. Just then, a figure entered the clearing. She couldn't make out any features but a blur of white and black, before she heard the person speak in a deep male voice, as they looked around at the bodies of the bandits._

_"I guess someone got to them before me . . . . I wish I had got here sooner." He said regretfully, as he looked at her body and her unconscious son._

_Slowly, he walked over to the boy. The man knelt down next to her son, and picked him up, gently cradling him in his arms. He seemed to look from her son to her, and back again; before he spoke to her son and himself._

_"Well now, what are we going to do with you little one?" He asked to himself, as he looked down at her once more. "I suppose that's your mother . . . which means you're probably alone now, poor thing." He said, releasing a regretful sigh. "Even in supposed peace, people die needlessly. I'd better get you oughta here, get you checked out to make sure your ok." Said the man, standing to his feet._

_Looking down at her, he gave one last comment before disappearing in a plume of smoke._

_"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your son." He said to her corpse, before disappeared using the Shunshin no Jutsu(Body Flicker Jutsu)._

* * *

It didn't take long for her to figure out that what she had seen had happened while she was in limbo, and that it was probably because she hadn't passed on yet. Which meant that what she saw was real.

"He's safe. A man came after I was dead, he found him asleep, and felt bad with him, so he took Minato-chan with him. I don't know who the man was, but he seemed like he was good enough." She answered, relieved that for now her son was safe.

"Good, good. After you've rested a bit we can begin trying to find him." Said Madara in a soothing tone. As soon as he finished his sentence, Kazehana felt a wave of weariness hit her. Her vision became blurry, and her limbs went numb.

As she collapsed into her husband's arms, with him giving a shout of alarm, she tried to figure out what was wrong. From what she knew of the jutsu he used, she had a pretty good idea of what was wrong.

"Kazehana-chan, Kazehana, what's the matter?" Asked Madara in worry, a knot forming in his stomach. Could something have gone wrong?

The blond woman gave a weak cough, before she answered shakily.

"I-I don't think I'll be able to help you find him. It seems that your jutsu didn't replace the blood I lost, the only thing keeping me alive is the life-force your jutsu gave me." She answered in a sad tone.

Alarmed, Madara turned on his Sharingan, to see that she was right. Her chakra network was slowly dimming, as the life-force was being used up.

"Don't worry, hold on Kazehana-chan, I'll just use the Naraka Path, it'll fix you up good as new, then we can go find him!" Said Madara, as he prepared to use another jutsu.

He was stopped, when Kazehana put a gentle hand over his own.

"Don't! Look at what the first one did to you, what do you think another will do?" She asked. Madara looked to object, but she placed a gentle finger on his lips. "You have a better chance of finding him than me, you need to think of Minato right now." She urged.

Madara squeezed his eyes shut tightly, a few tears leaking out as he embraced her gently. He knew she was right, but he didn't want her to be. His entire life, he had fought the hatred that had been ingrained in him since he was a small boy; but she changed that– she purged him of his hate. He loved her so much, how could he let her go?

"B-but I can't just let you die, how am I supposed to do that? You've helped me so much, you mad me happy, these past ten years have been the best of my life!" He told her in a grief-filled voice.

Raising her hand to cup his cheek, Kazehana looked into his eyes with her own glistening in unshed tears."You must Madara-kun. I can already feel myself struggling to stay conscious. You have to promise me something before I die though." She told him, looking at him intensely.

"Of course, anything." Madara answered tearfully, finally beginning to accept that she was going to die.

"Don't try to bring me back again." She told him, causing Madara to open his mouth to protest, but she went on before he could. "You can't obsess over this, you have to move on. Stay as you are, and find out son, promise me!" Said Kazehana, gripping his shirt tightly.

With a hard lump forming in his throat, and a heavy weight in his heart, Madara nodded. Tears streamed down his face more heavily than ever, as he watched her slowly fading.

"Good . . . I love you, Madara-kun." Said the blond woman softly, as she leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, a warm pitter-patter hitting her face as his tears fell onto her skin.

She rested her head on his shoulder, and her eyes gently closed as her vision went dark. Her body slumped against him, the life finally leaving her for good. Madara pulled her into his lap, cradling her smaller body against him, as his body was wracked with sobs, which soon turned to anguished cries.

The crying Uchiha threw his head back as the tears streamed like rivers down his face; and he let loose a scream of anguish.

"AAAAHHHHH!"

* * *

**– ****Present Day, Naruto's Room – **

A lone tear trailed down Madara's cheek, as he remembered how helpless he had felt that day. With a shaky breath, he pulled himself together, looking back up at his grandson. His eyes reminded him so much of his wife, just like his son's had.

Naruto himself sniffled slightly after the story. It was really sad, and he felt even sadder at never having met his grandmother. But he still had questions, like what that other dōjutsu he mentioned was

"So what's this Rineh-thingy, is it like the Sharingan?" Asked Naruto in confusion, not familiar with the term. The way he messed up the name caused the elder Uchiha to chuckle once more.

"The _Rinnegan_, is a the third of the Three Great Dōjutsu, and the most powerful. The first known user was the Rikudō Sennin– the Sage of the Six Paths– and can only be attained when you combine the chakra of the two clans descended from his sons, by taking the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan to the highest level– the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan– , and combining it with the potent chakra of the Senju Clan." Madara explained to his grandson.

That answered one of Naruto's questions, but he still had more. Like one that had been plaguing his mind for his entire life– who were his parents?

"So can you tell me more about my parents, like who were they?" Asked the blond Uchiha. This was something he had been dying to know, who were his parents? The prospect of finally finding out was nearly eating away at him.

Madara quirked his eyebrow, and gave a small smirk. "Must I keep reminding you to be patient, That is part of the next bit of the story." Replied the elder Uchiha, before launching into the next part of the tale of his life.

* * *

**– ****Same Time, Forests of Konoha –**

A breeze passed through the trees, causing a constant rustling. The cool air like an icy chill on Shisui's slightly sweaty skin, easing his exhaustion somewhat. Blood ran down from his now empty right eye socket, as he travelled at fast speeds through the foliage of the forests that made up Konoha's training grounds. Leaves of varying shades of green, from lime to emerald, blurring into a wall of color due to his speed.

_'What do I do now? I can't go back to the clan like this, there'll be trouble because of the eye Danzō took, so what now?' _The Uchiha thought. The unruly-haired Uchiha couldn't help but curse, as he leapt from branch to branch. The – presumably former – one-eyed elder had ruined everything! Why did the old bastard have to interfere?

His orders came from the Sandaime, yet the old war hawk had interfered. The bastard always had to think that he knew better, that the Sandaime was too soft, and he made decisions to interfere with the Sandaime's, that usually made things worse. None more so than the current one.

He had been so close, to stopping his clans coup d'état against Konoha. It was rather simple, use his unique genjutsu granted by his Mangekyō Sharingan on the leaders of the clan to stop the coup. But that was useless now, because the former Anbu Commander of the 'disbanded' Root program – Danzō Shimura – had intercepted him, and stolen his right eye.

Now he had to somehow keep the other out of his grubby hand, because it would be disastrous if the war hawk got a hold of the full power of the Kotoamatsukami. Still . . . he wanted his eye to help in protecting Konoha; even after his death. That meant he had to entrust it to someone. As that fact crossed his mind, the one-eyed mans features slowly twisted into a smirk. He wanted to entrust his powers to someone he knew would use them to protect the village. The unruly haired Uchiha knew the perfect person to fit that bill, a person who already had a mission to stop the coup.

Not only that . . . but maybe, just maybe; he could give Konoha a new set of Mangekyō eyes to protect it from the shadows for years to come. His smirk melted into a melancholy smile, as he finally cemented his plan.

_'It seems I should get Itachi to meet me at the usual place, for a final fair well . . . and hopefully, I can give him the edge he needs to complete his mission successfully.' _He thought.

The man stopped briefly on a branch. Around him the forest was painted orange, as the last rays of light started to disappear on the horizon. Crickets could be heard chirping in the night, as he flashed through a series of hand seals, ending on the 'ram' hand seal.

Channeling chakra to his tooth, to sharpen it and pierce his thumb. With a quick swipe across his palm that smeared the resulting blood across it, the unruly-haired Uchiha slammed his palm onto the wide branch he stood on.

_Poof_

A plume of smoke erupted from where his palm met the bark, as the Uchiha prepared to send his message to his friend that was like a younger brother, feeling a twinge of sadness at the conversation to come.

* * *

**– ****Madara's Lair, Naruto's Room –**

"After your grandmother died, I took her body back to our home in the Land of Rivers, and buried her. From there, I set out to try and find your father; a journey that took me twenty-two years." Madara began explaining.

"During that time, when I went to check up on my old base, I discovered that someone had found it, and removed the Gedō Mazō– the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path – hidden inside, along with a tree cultivated using the Shodai Hokage's DNA, that produced artificial human. When I tried to re-summon the statue, I was unable to do it, and I came to the conclusion that there was another Rinnegan user out there somewhere, and they were stopping me from summoning it somehow.

"I then had to split my time between finding information about this person, and finding your. Eventually, the years began to catch up to me, and I was forced to integrate the DNA of your mothers clan – the Uzumaki Clan – into my own, to give me more longevity, to continue my search." At this point, Madara paused, to look at his grandson. Naruto looked attentive after hearing this first bit of information about his mother; and eager for more.

"And it wasn't long after that, that I finally managed to find your father. You see, while he was born as Minato Uchiha, the man who found him, only knew his first name, which was stitched into his clothes. During his time growing up here in Konoha, he took up another name– Minato, Namikaze."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. He recognized that name instantly, after all, how could he not recognize the name of his hero? His father . . . . was the Yondaime Hokage!

"Your mother, was Kushina Uzumaki, and the second Kyūbi Jinchūriki. She came from the former Land of Whirlpools to have it passed from the Shodai Hokage's wife to her." Stated Madara, further surprising his grandson.

His mother had the Kyūbi sealed into her too? Was she the woman the Kyūbi was talking about? Seeing the look on his grandsons face, Madara could tell that he wanted to know more about his parents.

"I suppose you would like to know more about them as people, before I tell you the story of how they died on the night you were born?" Asked Madara. Upon his grandsons nod, he launched into a brief explanation of them. " Your father – my son – was a very intelligent shinobi, and a very kind and respectful.

"Your mother on the other hand, was very impulsive and headstrong as a girl, but she grew to become level-headed and cheerful as a woman, although she retained her quick temper– something she was well known for. She had long the red hair distinctive of the Uzumaki clan, and was extremely skilled in Fuinjutsu."

As Madara finished his descriptions, he looked to see that his grandson seemed very happy. The boy looked like he had unshed tears in his eyes, most likely due to finally learning of his family. With a twinge of regret, Madara pushed on, to begin the most serious and pertinent part of his story.

"And that, leads us to the last part of the story, and the reason I said that it was my fault you don't have a family besides myself." Madara said, gaining his grandsons undivided attention. He had to force a lump down his throat, as he began the last of his tale. "It happened on the very night of your birth, the night the Kyūbi attacked Konoha . . . the night a man using my name release it from your mothers seal, and forced your parents to sacrifice themselves to seal it." He started, his fists clenched in anger, as he thought of the strange masked man, he had only gotten a glimpse of.

Eye's glazing as he remembered the night, Madara began to recite his recollection of the night of his grandsons birth.

"It was seven years ago, when I finally found your father. It was his accomplishments in the last war that brought him to my attention. Eventually, I decided to approach him on the night of your birth. By that time he was Hokage, and I was very nervous about finally meeting him– after all, he was a toddler when he went missing, and now he was Hokage, and I was still Konoha's most infamous traitor.

"Despite my nerves, I went none the less." Madara paused, as he remembered the scene he had arrived on when he had travelled to Konoha. A scene flames that burned auburn in the night, and bodied littering the streets.

"When I arrived, the village was in chaos. Buildings were destroyed, fires raged, and bodies lay in the street. Standing over it all, was the Kyūbi. I knew right away something was wrong– after all, the Kyūbi was sealed inside your mother, so for him to be in the village meant something was wrong,

"The shinobi of the village were struggling to hold it back, even Tobirama Senju's student, the Sandaime Hokage– was holding him back. He managed to force him out of the village, but Kyūbi began to charge a Bijūdama(Tailed-Beast Ball)– an attack that could have wiped out the entire village. I was prepared to reveal myself, and stop it, but before I could, your father appeared with his summon, the Toad Summon boss, Gamabunta. Gamabunta held him down, while your father transported it far away from the village, where the Bijūdama exploded harmlessly. I rushed to the site of the explosion, intent on helping,

"When I arrived, Minato had already retrieved you and your mother. Your mother had already used her special chakra chains to bind the Kyūbi, and create a barrier to keep him from escaping. Despite seeing this with my Sharingan, I used the Meisaigakure no Jutsu(Hiding with Camouflage Jutsu) to hide my scent and form, and suppressed my chakra– so as not to alarm them, and cause a fatal mistake–, and then tried to enter the clearing; but it was to no avail, the barrier was too strong. Unable to enter I was forced to watch it all unfold.

"Your mother and father argued, over whether you should be a jinchuriki. You see, Kushina wanted to re-seal the Kyūbi into herself and die with it, prolonging the time until it would reappear. Your father, on the other hand, wanted to sacrifice himself to split it in half, sealing one half in himself, and the other in you.

"It was at this point, that Sarutobi arrived along with a few Konoha nin, and I had to move back to avoid being noticed by him, and I lost the ability to hear your parents talking. Eventually, your father began a jutsu I recognized instantly– an invention of your mothers clan, the Uzumaki– the Shiki Fuijin(Dead Demon Consuming Seal). The Shiki Fuijin summons summons the Shinigami, and seals the soul of an opponent, at the cost of your own soul, to be locked in eternal eternal combat with each other within the stomach of the Shinigami.

"Minato completed the seal, and sealed Kyūbi's Yin half inside himself, causing Kyūbi to shrink in size due to the loss in power. In the after math, the chains around him were looser, and it was at this point that your mother succumbed to a bought of coughs, due to her weakened condition from Kyūbi being removed earlier that night– it's a miracle she managed to survive it at all, proof of the Uzumaki clans strong life force,

"Unaware of this, your father summoned a ceremonial throne and placed you on it, so that he could seal the Yang half of Kyūbi in you. But Kyūbi had noticed this, so when your mother had her fit, and Minato turned to help her, Kyūbi struck. He tried to impale you on his claw, and would succeeded, if it had not been for your parents noticing it, and intercepting the blow themselves,

"Mortally wounded, with their lives fading rapidly, Minato hurried to seal Kyūbi– completing the Hakke no Fuin Shiki(Eight Trigrams Sealing Style), and sealing Kyūbi's Yang half into you with his dying breath, and your mother followed soon after." As he finished telling of his son's death, unshed tears swum in Madara's eyes, the burden of his memories weighing heavily on his shoulders. For his part, Naruto found himself slightly misty eyed as well, hearing how his parents had given their lives to save him.

Madara blinked the tears away, and began to finish his story, as he said, " After that, you were left alone in the clearing with their bodies. When the barrier dissipated, I wanted to go and to you; but I was prevented by the presence of the Sandaime and the other Konoha Shinobi.

" I had no choice but to retreat, and wait for a more opportune time to enter your life. As I left, I was able to glimpse a man hiding in the shadows, wearing a mask and cloak. I don't know who he was, but he was skilled enough to hide from the Sandaime, but not skilled enough to hide from me. I believe, he is connected to the disappearance of the Gedō Mazō and my notes on my plan. He was following my plan, and that is why I say it is my fault you do not have a family; and why I say he was involved in the attack, because it would help the plan, If Konoha was weakened from an attack by the Kyūbi." Madara finished, looking at his grandson intensely.

In the wake of the tale, silence reigned, and Naruto sat, mulling over what he had just heard. Since he could remember, he had always wanted to know where he came from; but now that he did, he didn't know what to think. On one hand, his parents had given their lives to save him and the village . . . . but on the other, his father had sealed the Kyūbi inside him, which had led to him being ostracized from the rest of the village; hated by many of the adults, and avoided by the children that sensed that dislike.

That wasn't even mentioning the Sandaime– his 'Ojiisan', who knew of the reason all along. It also was likely that he had known who his parents were as well. Why did he keep those things from him?

But despite this nagging question, the most pressing thing on his mind was one to do with his father. "Why . . " Mumbled Naruto, with Madara barely catching it.

Perking up, the Uchiha looked at his grandson curiously.

"Hmm, why what?" He asked.

Naruto paused, looking down for a moment, before looking back up with an intense gaze set upon his grandfather– slightly taking him aback as he asked, "Why'd my father seal Kyūbi inside of _me_? Did he even pause to consider what it would do?". Despite the fact that Naruto asked it in a serious tone, Madara could sense the underlying hurt, anger, and sadness.

Sighing, he answered, "First, you should know that both your parents loved you very much– they wouldn't of given their lives for you if they didn't" Began Madara, getting a hesitant nod from Naruto.

"As for why Minato sealed the Kyūbi in you– I believe the reason was twofold. I think that he did not want to upset the balance of the Bijū, the Kyūbi serves as a valuable war deterrent, as do all tailed beasts sealed within jinchuriki." Upon hearing this, Naruto looked shocked. Had his father really just been considering the well being of the village when he condemned him to living as a jinchuriki?

Seeing the look on his grandsons face, Madara smiled gently, before continuing; "But I believe the largest reason, was because he knew of the masked man, and he wanted to entrust that power to you, to use to protect the village and stop that man." He stated.

This response earned a more positive response than the last, as Naruto looked slightly happy, becoming tearful at the thought of his father trusting him that much, simply because he was his son. Madara laid his hand on Naruto's shoulder gently, as he looked into his teary eyes, as he said,

"I want you to know, that you are no longer alone. I will be there for you from now on." Naruto finally lost control of his tear ducts, a tear sliding down his cheek– a glistening trail being left behind.

Hesitantly, the boy asked, "Y-you promise?".

"I promise, but you must keep it hidden, no one– not even Sarutobi, can know. If people were to discover that our connection, and that I was alive and in contact with you, it would be very bad– they would assume the worst, that I am corrupting and using you, so you must swear to me that you will keep it secret until I deem it appropriate to make known." Said Madara seriously, making sure to impress that seriousness upon Naruto.

Naruto nodded rapidly, happy tears beginning to fall in earnest, as a lump formed in his throat. If he could finally have a family, keeping it secret was a small price to pay. Lunging forward, the young blond threw his arms around the ancient Uchiha's neck– a slight _–oof– _being released from the elder at the impact– as he cried into his shoulder.

"I-I swear, I won't tell anyone. All I want, is family . . . Grandfather." He sobbed into his grandfathers shoulder.

At first, Madara was surprised by the embrace, but eventually, he got over his shock, and embraced Naruto back, holding him tightly as he said, "Then I suppose it's time we get started, after all, it will take some planning for you to begin living here unnoticed."

As his grandson pulled back, tear stains still wet upon his cheeks, and gave him a wide, bright smile– it was all the vindication Madara needed, to know he had made the right decision in revealing himself.

_'Kazehana, Kushina, Minato, I hope you are watching;. I swear, that I will prepare him. He will be safe, for this time– I will not fail!'_

* * *

**– ****By the Naka River near the Hokage Monument –**

An inky black curtain, stretched across the sky, and tiny pinpricks of light were beginning to come out, with one single, large white orb on high.

The silvery light of the moon shone down on the rocky terrain to the side of the Hokage monument, casting the world into a grey tone. Shisui stood on the a cliff overlooking the Naka River, with a small waterfall directly across from him. By now, the blood on his face had dried into a solid dark red sheet down his right cheek.

Gazing out across the canyon with his single good eye, Shisui reflected on the events of the day. The day had started so well– he had planned on ending the ridiculous coup of his clan with his special genjutsu; but then, the damned bandaged faced fossil had interfered, stealing his eye, and sending his little drones after him. He had gotten a slight break when three of them had broken off, allowing him to escape and get word to Itachi. The really strange part was, when he went back later and followed the trail of the three Root ninja that had broken off, it had ended at the edge of a waterfall, and the only thing he had found was three patches of blackened earth.

_'I wonder what happened . . . it looked almost as if fires had been set there– fires to burn bodies . . . could they have been killed? But by who?'_ This thought, was prominent in Shisui's mind. As much as he hated to admit it, Root Anbu were skilled. For three to be killed was no small feat, and to be able to get rid of all traces of them to the point that even he couldn't find them, was even harder.

With a sigh, Shisui closed his eye for a moment, before opening it slowly, as he said, "So, you've finally arrived . . . Itachi . .". Behind him, a second man– who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen– walked out onto the cliff, looking at Shisui with confusion.

I had jet black hair, that was bound into a low-ponytail, and onyx eyes. Pronounced tear troughs extended underneath his eyes, and his bangs were parted down the center. He wore the traditional Anbu attire with an Uchiha high-collar shirt underneath his grey body armor, a katana strapped to his back.

"Why did you call me here Shisui, shouldn't we be at the meeting, the clan will get suspicious if I keep missing them." Itachi said, as he approached the older Uchiha.

Still looking at the small waterfall across from him, Shisui spoke without turning. " It no longer looks like the Uchiha coup d'état gain be prevented." Itachi's eyes widened, at Shisui's words. He had been very vocal about using his own method to end the coup; what could have changed his mind?

"If civil war begins in the Leaf, the other villages will be like sharks smelling blood in the water, and surely move to invade." Stated Shisui bluntly, as he looked at the sky. "Real war will then break out." Shisui finally turned to face Itachi, who gasped in shock at his closed eye and the large trail of blood.

"When I tried to stop the coup d'état with the Kotoamatsukami, Danzō stole my right eye." Said Shisui, as he looked at Itachi with his one good Mangekyō Sharingan. "He doesn't trust me. He intends to protect the village his way, no matter what it takes or how it looks." Turning, Shisui glanced at the canyon beside him.

"I suspect he will come after my left eye as well." Said Shisui, as he reached up to his eye. "So I want to give it to you before he has a chance" He continued, a sick squelching sound filling the air, as he ripped the eyeball from the socket, the optical nerve and blood vessel dangling from the orb clutched loosely in his hand.

_'Shisui . . . '_ Thought Itachi, as he looked at the twin trails of blood going down his friends cheeks.

Blood dripped from his hand; which was stained red with the crimson liquid. "You're the only person I can count on, my best friend." Smiling, he extended his hand to his friend. "Please protect the village . . . and the honor of the Uchiha name." Said Shisui.

Tears began to swim in Itachi's eyes, as he slowly took the eye, ignoring the sliminess as he clutched it softly. "Why are you speaking this way Shisui?" Asked Itachi, although he already knew; he just didn't want to admit it.

Shisui smiled teasingly, at his friend. "Come now– we both know that if the clan finds out that my eye was taken, the coup will be hastened. To prevent this, I will make it look like a killed myself. I already left a suicide letter, now I will throw myself over the side of this cliff, and eliminate all traces of my body." he replied.

Slowly, he began to back up, still facing Itachi's way, as he threw his parting words at him. "Good bye, my friend. Protect the clan name, and Sasuki. She is the future of our clan." Said Shisui.

"Wait, Shisui, don't do this!" Protested Itachi, only to be ignored. Shisui turned, and dashed to the edge of the cliff, throwing himself backwards and over the side.

Itachi quickly dashed after him, stopping on the edge to see his friend falling towards the river below, forming hand seals rapidly. A peaceful smile was on his face, even as white hot flames began to engulf his body.

Itachi looked on in despair as his friend burnt himself to ashes, his Sharingan becoming active. The tomoe began to spin rapidly, until they morphed into an all new shape, joining together with the pupil at the ends, forming a tri-bladed pinwheel.

"SHISUI!" He shouted, as he watched his friend disappear, the peaceful smile never leaving his face.

As the flames licked at his body, his skin began to crack and blister as it slowly burnt. The sickly sweet fetor of cooked human flesh filled the air around him– his body disappearing into a trail of ashes.

_'Itachi . . . I have faith in you. This way, my death will mean something . . and you can save the honor of the Uchiha name.'_ Thought Shisui, as he finally disappeared, only a trail of ash that slowly fell through the air and landed in the water below, being swept away on the current.

With his dying breath, he had left his friend with a gift to help him for years to come.

* * *

**Chapter End**

**AN/ Ok, there we go. Whew, took longer than I thought, but I'm, happy with the end product. So, the story of Madara's life in this fic is revealed, and Naruto now has a family. Shisui is dead, and the massacre of the clan is approaching.**

**I hope you enjoyed the back story for Madara, I worked hard on it. As for Kazehana, I based her physical appearance off of Gaara's mother, Karura, only with hair the same color as Minato.  
**

**Now, end of chapter announcements. I need some opinions on a couple things in review. I plan on having a couple filler missions in between Wave and the Chūnin Exams to build the romance between Naruto and Sasuki(Fem-Sasuke), so I could use your input on possible missions from filler arcs in the Anime. They have to be challenging enough that Naruto and Fem-Sasuke will get a challenge, but easy enough for pre-Chūnin Exams Sakura to survive. They would also need a challenge for Kakashi, unless it was one where he wasn't present. Currently I am leaning towards the Land of Vegetables Arc, and the Waterfall OVA; let me know your opinions.**

**Second thing for your attention, I would like to bring your attention once more to my contest I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter: The first person to correctly guess the identity of the second girl before she is revealed, will be given the option of choosing a girl that will be either the pairing for one of my next fics, or might be a second pairing for one of my upcoming fics(if I already have a firm choice for that fic).**

**I will inform the winner(the first person to guess correctly), that they won via a PM, and simply announce an end to the contest. This way, I get to keep my evil suspense going as well as not giving away who the girl is by publically announcing the winner(because you could just go and see who they guessed and find out).**

**There are only three limitations I will put on the choices, and they are: 1) I won't do female Bijū, there are quite a few problems I have with this pairing, too many to get into. 2) I won't do Kushina or any other incest. 3) They have to be shinobi. I don't really have an interest in having him be with civilians, as they would have no chance of protecting themselves from his enemies.**

**Besides that, any other girl is game, I'll even do gender bends(obviously I have no issue with these.).**

**The rules for guessing are simple, you get to guess one girl per chapter review, and if multiple are given, I will simply take the very first one as the guess. Obviously, with the fact I will be informing the winner that they won vie PM, you will need an account to win.**

**I hope people have fun with this.**

**Third, I would like your opinions on the format change I made as far as translations went this chapter, is it preferable to the list at the end of a chapter?**

**Finally, please review. They really help me figure out what I am doing right, and I love the feedback and critiques, so long as it is done in a constructive manner. **

**I'll try to get the next chapter out in one to two weeks.**

**Until then,**

**RinneTaicho, signing off!**


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